Skip to main content

Full text of "Tales of adventure on the sea"

See other formats 


t     I 


1  • 


*., 


ft*  o 


' 

1 .  mbH^h 

• 

■^i    .         V 

' !  '     '■ 

1 

!• 


i     I 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


\l 


V.^'' 


Catching  the  Shark. 


ON   THE   SEA. 


■■% 


TALES  OF  ADVENTURE 


ON   THE   SEA. 


By  E.  M.  BALLANTYNE. 


SELECTED    FROM    BALLANTTNE'S    MISCELLAKY. 


SUSitf)  illustrations  bp,  tin  Sutljor. 


« 


LONDON: 
JAMES  NISBET  &  CO.,  21  BERNERS  STREET. 

1875. 


EDINBURGH  :  T.  AND  A.  CONSTABLE, 
PRINTERS  TO  THE  QUEEN,  AND  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY. 


PEEFACK 

The  Four  Tales  contained  in  this  Volume  are 

selected  from  "  Ballantyne's  Miscellany,"  and 

illustrate    some    of    man's    experiences     and 

adventures    on    the    Sea   in    various    quarters 

of  the  Globe.      They  are  founded  to  a  large 

extent   on   fact,  and   are   intended  to  give  a 

correct    representation     of    the     scenes    and 

events  depicted. 

E.  M.  B. 


%^'i.^  V^  <»_«»  v>  <J 

RESERVE 


CONTENTS. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES  ;  OR,  DOINGS  AND 
DANGERS  ON  A  FISHING  CRUISE. 

PAGE 

In  Trouble  to  begin  with,       ....       -  7 

At  Sea, 18 

Our  First  Battle, 30 

"Cutting  in  the  Blubber"  and  "Trying  Out 

THE  Oil," 41 

A  Storm,  a  Man  Overboard,  and  a  Rescue,  .        .  52 

The  Whale— Fighting  Bulls,  ETC.,        ...  60' 

Tom's  Wisdom— Another  great  Battle,        .       .  70 

Death  on  the  Sea, 87 

Keeping  the  Sabbath, 101 

News  from  Home— A  Gam, 109 

Return  Home,           120 


VI 


CONTENTS.  \/ 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE ;   OR,  ADVENTURES  IN  THE 
POLAR  REGIONS. 

PAGE 

Outward  Bouio), 7 

At  Sea— The  First  Storm,       .....  12 

In  the  Ice — Dangers  op  Arctic  Voyaging,     .       .  19 

DiFFicxJLTrES,  Troubles,  and  Dangers,  ...  30 

A  Gale— Narrow  Escapes— Signs  of  Winter— Set 

Fast, 41 

Preparations  for  Wintering — Remarkable  Adven- 
tures with  a  Bear, 52 

A  Great  Battle  with  the  Walrus,        ...  64 

The  Cause  of  Icebergs— Fox-chase — A  Bear,        .  83 

A  Visit  to  the  Eskimos— Wonderful  Doings- A 

Mystery, 93 

The  Tale  of  a  Kite— A  Great  Bear-fight,    .        .  103 

Christmas   Time— Death — Returning   Light  and 

Hope— Disasters  and  final  Deliverance,       .  112 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS;    OR,  CAPTAIN  COOK'S 
ADVENTURES  IN  THE  SOUTH  SEAS. 

A  Hero  who  rose  from  the  Ranks,         ...       7 
Shows   what   Men   will   do  and   dare   in  the 

Cause  of  Science, 13 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAOE 

Describes  an  Adventdbe  in  the  Mountains,  and 

TELLS  OF  TIERBA  DEL  FUEGO,         ....  22 

Explains  how  Coral  Islands  are  made,         .        .  33 

Discovery  by  Captain  Wallis  of  Otaheite  or 

Tahiti, 42 

Captain  Cook's  Visit  to  Tahiti,  ....  52 
Shows  what  Vanity  will  induce  Men  and  Women 

to  do, ^^ 

Treats  of   Savage  Warfare   and  some   of  its 

Consequences, 74 

Touches  on  Cannibalism,         .       .       .       .        .  83 

Visit  to  New  Zealand, S3 

The  Last  Voyage  anb  sad  end  of  the  Great 

Discoverer, HI 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE  ;  OR,  THE  FIGHTS 
AND  FANCIES  OF  A  BRITISH  TAR. 

Touches  on  our  Hero's  ^hly  Life,  Experiences, 

and  Adventures, 7 

Commences  the  Story, 20 

Bill  is  initiated  into  the  Duties  of  his  new 

Station, ^^ 

Our  Hero  and  his  Friends  see  Service,        .       .  49 


Vlil  CONTENTS. 

Nelson  Hunts  the  French, 62 

The  Battle  of  the  Nile, 69 

Battle  of  the  '^tle— Continued,       ....  81 

Our  Hero  and  his  Messmate  get  into  Trouble,    .  94 

Bill  and  Ben  set  their  Brains  to  steep  with 

unconquerable  perseverance,         .       .       .  105 


FIGHTING   THE   WHALES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

IN  TROUBLE,  TO  BEGIN  WITH. 

THERE  are  few  things  in  this  world  that  have 
filled  me  with  so  much  astonishment  as  the 
fact  that  man  can  kill  a  whale  !  That  a  fish, 
more  than  sixty  feet  long,  and  thirty  feet  round 
the  body  ;  with  the  bulk  of  three  hundred  fat 
oxen  rolled  into  one  ;  with  the  strength  of  many 
hundreds  of  horses ;  able  to  swim  at  a  rate  that 
would  carry  it  right  round  the  world  in  twenty- 
three  days  ;  that  can  smash  a  boat  to  atoms  with 
one  slap  of  its  tail,  and  stave  in  the  planks  of 
■a  ship  with  one  blow  of  its  thick  skull ; — that 
such  a  monster  can  be  caught  and  killed  by 
man,  is  most  wonderful  to  hear  of,  but  I  can 
tell  from  experience  that  it  is  much  more  wonder- 
ful to  see. 

There  is  a  wise  saying  which  I   have  often 
thought  much  upon.     It  is  this  :  "  Knowledge  is 


8  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

power."  Man  is  but  a  feeble  creature,  and  if  he 
had  to  depend  on  his  own  bodUy  strength  alone 
he  could  make  no  head  against  even  the  ordinary 
brutes  in  this  world.  But  the  knowledge  which 
has  been  given  to  him  by  his  Maker  has  clothed 
man  with  great  power,  so  that  he  is  more  than  a 
match  for  the  fiercest  beast  in  the  forest,  or  the 
largest  fish  in  the  sea.  Yet,  with  all  his  know- 
ledge, with  all  his  experience,  and  all  his  power, 
the  killing  of  a  great  old  sperm  whale  costs  man 
a  long,  tough  battle,  sometimes  it  even  costs  him 
his  life. 

It  is  a  long  time  now  since  I  took  to  fighting 
the  whales.  I  have  been  at  it,  man  and  boy,  for 
nigh  forty  years,  and  many  a  wonderful  sight  have 
I  seen  ;  many  a  desperate  battle  have  I  fought 
in  the  fisheries  of  the  North  and  South  Seas. 

Sometimes,  when  I  sit  in  the  chimney-corner, 
of  a  winter  evening,  smoking  my  pipe  with  my 
old  messmate  Tom  Lokins,  I  stare  into  the  fire 
and  think  of  the  days  gone  by  till  I  forget  where 
I  am,  and  go  on  thinking  so  hard  that  the  flames 
seem  to  turn  into  melting-fires,  and  the  bars  of 
the  grate  into  dead  fish,  and  the  smoke  into  sails 
and  rigging,  and  I  go  to  work  cutting  up  the 
blubber  and  stirring  the  oU-pots,  or  pulling  the 
bow-oar  and  driving  the  harpoon  at  such  a  rate 
that  I  can't  help  giving  a  shout,  which  causes 
Tom  to  start  and  cry  : — 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  9 

"  Hallo  !    Bob"    (my  name  is  Bob  Ledbury, 
you  see).     "  Hallo  !  Bob,  wot's  the  matter  ?" 

To  which  I  reply,  "  Tom,  can  it  aU  be  true  ?" 

"  Can  wot  be  true  ?"  says  he,  with  a  stare  of 
surprise — for  Tom  is  getting  into  his  dotage 
now. 

And  then  I  chuckle  and  teU  him  I  was  only 
thinking  of  old  times,  and  so  he  falls  to  smoking 
again,  and  I  to  staring  at  the  fire,  and  thinking  as 
hard  as  ever. 

The  way  in  which  I  was  first  led  to  go  after 
the  whales  was  curious.    This  is  how  it  happened. 

About  forty  years  ago,  when  I  was  a  boy  of 
nearly  fifteen  years  of  age,  I  lived  with  my  mother 
in  one  of  the  sea-port  towns  of  England.  There 
was  great  distress  in  the  town  at  that  time,  and 
many  of  the  hands  were  out  of  work.  My  em- 
ployer, a  blacksmith,  had  just  died,  and  for  more 
than  six  weeks  I  had  not  been  able  to  get  employ- 
ment or  to  earn  a  farthing.  This  caused  me  great 
distress,  for  my  father  had  died  without  leaving 
a  penny  in  the  world,  and  my  mother  depended 
on  me  entirely.  The  money  I  had  saved  out  of  my 
wages  was  soon  spent,  and  one  morning  when  I 
sat  down  to  breakfast,  my  mother  looked  across 
the  table  and  said,  in  a  thoughtful  voice, 

"  Robert,  dear,  this  meal  has  cost  us  our  last 
halfpenny." 

My  mother  was  old  and  frail,  and  her  voice 


10  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

very  gentle,  she  was  the  most  trustful,  uncom- 
plaining woman  I  ever  knew. 

I  looked  up  quickly  into  her  face  as  she  spoke, 
"  All  the  money  gone,  mother  V 

"  Ay,  all.  It  will  be  hard  for  you  to  go  with- 
out your  dinner,  Robert,  dear." 

"  It  will  be  harder  for  you,  mother,"  I  cried, 
striking  the  table  with  my  fist ;  then  a  lump  rose 
in  my  throat  and  almost  choked  me.  I  could  not 
utter  another  word. 

It  was  with  difficulty  I  managed  to  eat  the 
little  food  that  was  before  me.  After  breakfast 
I  rose  hastily  and  rushed  out  of  the  house,  deter- 
mined that  I  would  get  my  mother  her  dinner, 
even  if  I  should  have  to  beg  for  it.  But  I  must 
confess  that  a  sick  feeling  came  over  me  when  I 
thought  of  begging. 

Hurrying  along  the  crowded  streets  without 
knowing  very  well  what  I  meant  to  do,  I  at  last 
came  to  an  abrupt  halt  at  the  end  of  the  pier. 
Here  T  went  up  to  several  people  and  offered  my 
services  in  a  wild  sort  of  way.  They  must  have 
thought  that  I  was  drunk,  for  nearly  all  of  them 
said  gruffly  that  they  did  not  want  me. 

Dinner  time  drew  near,  but  no  one  had  given 
me  a  job,  and  no  wonder,  for  the  way  in  which  I 
tried  to  get  one  was  not  likely  to  be  successful. 
At  last  I  resolved  to  beg.  Observing  a  fat,  red- 
faced  old  gentleman  coming  along  the  pier,  I  made 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  1 1 

up  to  him  boldly.  He  carried  a  cane  with  a 
large  gold  knob  on  the  top  of  it.  That  gave  me 
hope,  "  for  of  course,"  thought  I,  "  he  must  be 
rich."  His  nose,  which  was  exactly  the  colour 
and  shape  of  the  gold  knob  on  his  cane,  was 
stuck  in  the  centre  of  a  round  good-natured  coun- 
tenance, the  mouth  of  which  was  large  and  firm ; 
the  eyes  bright  and  blue.  He  frowned  as  I  went 
forward  hat  in  hand ;  but  I  was  not  to  be  driven 
back  ;  the  thought  of  my  starving  mother  gave 
me  power  to  crush  down  my  rising  shame.  Yet 
I  had  no  reason  to  be  ashamed.  I  was  willing  to 
work,  if  only  I  could  have  got  employment. 

Stopping  in  front  of  the  old  gentleman,  I  was 
about  to  speak  when  I  observed  him  quietly  but- 
ton up  his  breeches  pocket.  The  blood  rushed  to 
my  face,  and,  turning  quickly  on  my  heel,  T  walked 
away  without  uttering  a  word. 

"  Hallo  !"  shouted  a  gruff  voice  just  as  I  was 
moving  away. 

I  turned  and  observed  that  the  shout  was 
uttered  by  a  broad  rough-looking  jack-tar,  a  man 
of  about  two  or  three  and  thirty,  who  had  been 
sitting  all  the  forenoon  on  an  old  cask  smoking 
his  pipe  and  basking  in  the  sun. 

"  Hallo  !"  said  he  again. 

"Well,"  said  I. 

"  Wot  d'ye  mean,  youngster,  by  goin'  on  in 
that  there  fashion   all  the  momin',  a-botherin* 


1 2  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

everybody,  and  makin'  a  fool  o'  yourself  like  that  1 
eh!" 

"  What's  that  to  you  ?"  said  I  savagely,  for 
my  heart  was  sore  and  heavy,  and  I  could  not 
stand  the  interference  of  a  stranger. 

"  Oh  !  it's  nothin'  to  me  of  course,"  said  the 
sailor,  picking  his  pipe  quietly  with  his  clasp- 
knife  ;  **  but  come  here,  boy,  I've  somethin'  to 
say  to  ye." 

"  Well,  what  is  it  V  said  I,  going  up  to  him 
somewhat  sulkily. 

The  man  looked  at  me  gravely  through  the 
smoke  of  his  pipe,  and  said  "  You're  in  a  passion, 
my  yoimg  buck,  that's  aU ;  and,  in  case  you  didn't 
know  it,  I  thought  I'd  tell  ye." 

I  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter.  "  Well,  I  believe 
you're  not  far  wrong  ;  but  I'm  better  now." 

"Ah  !  that's  right,"  said  the  sailor  with  an 
approving  nod  of  his  head,  "  always  confess  when 
you're  in  the  wrong.  Now,  younker,  let  me  give 
you  a  bit  of  advice.  Never  get  into  a  passion  if 
you  can  help  it,  and  if  you  can't  help  it  get  out 
of  it  as  fast  as  possible,  and  if  you  can't  get  out 
of  it,  just  give  a  great  roar  to  let  off  the  steam 
and  turn  about  and  run.  There's  nothing  like 
that.  Passion  han't  got  legs.  It  can't  hold  on 
to  a  feller  when  he's  runnin'.  If  you  keep  it  up 
till  you  a'most  split  your  timbers,  passion  has  no 
chance.     It  must  go  a-starn.    Now,  lad,  I've  been 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  13 

watchin'  ye  all  the  morniu',  and  I  see  there's  a 
screiy  loose  somewhere.  If  you'll  tell  me  wot  it 
is,  see  if  I  don't  help  you  !" 

The  kind  frank  way  in  which  this  was  said 
quite  won  my  heart,  so  I  sat  down  on  the  old 
cask,  and  told  the  sailor  all  my  sorrows. 

"Boy,"  said  he,  when  I  had  finished,  "  I'll 
put  you  in  the  way  o'  helpin'  your  mother.  I 
can  get  you  a  berth  in  my  ship,  if  you're  wiilin' 
to  take  a  trip  to  the  whale  fishery  of  the  South 
Seas." 

"  And  who  wiU  look  after  my  mother  when  I'm 
away  1 "  said  I. 

The  sailor  looked  perplexed  at  the  question. 

"Ah  !  that's  a  puzzler,"  he  replied,  knocking 
the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe.  "  Will  you  take  me  to 
your  mother's  house,  lad  1 " 

"Willmgly,"  said  I,  and,  jumping  up,  I  led 
the  way.  As  we  turned  to  go,  I  observed  that 
the  old  gentleman  with  the  gold-headed  cane  was 
leaning  over  the  rail  of  the  pier  at  a  short  distance 
from  us.  A  feeling  of  anger  instantly  rose  within 
me,  and  I  exclaimed,  loud  enough  for  him  to  hear — 

"  I  do  believe  that  stingy  old  chap  has  been 
listening  to  every  word  we've  been  saying  ! " 

I  thought  I  observed  a  frown  on  the  sailor's 
brow  as  I  said  this,  but  he  made  no  remark,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  we  were  walking  rapidly  through 
the  streets.     My  companion  stopped  at  one  of 

B 


14  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

those  stores  so  common  in  seaport  towns,  where 
one  can  buy  almost  anything,  from  a  tallow  candle 
to  a  brass  cannon.  Here  he  purchased  a  pound 
of  tea,  a  pound  of  sugar,  a  pound  of  butter,  and 
a  small  loaf, — all  of  which  he  thrust  into  the 
huge  pockets  of  his  coat.  He  had  evidently  no 
idea  of  proportion  or  of  household  affairs.  It 
was  a  simple,  easy  way  of  settling  the  matter,  to 
get  a  pound  of  everything. 

In  a  short  time  we  reached  our  house,  a  very 
old  one,  in  a  poor  neighbourhood,  and  entered  my 
mother's  room.  She  was  sitting  at  the  table 
when  we  went  in,  with  a  large  Bible  before  her, 
and  a  pair  of  horn-spectacles  on  her  nose.  I 
could  see  that  she  had  been  out  gathering  coals 
and  cinders  during  my  absence,  for  a  good  fire 
burned  in  the  grate,  and  the  kettle  was  singing 
cheerily  thereon. 

"  I've  brought  a  friend  to  see  you,  mother," 
said  I. 

"  Good-day,  mistress,"  said  the  sailor,  bluntly, 
sitting  down  on  a  stool  near  the  fire.  "  You  seem 
to  be  goiu'  to  have  your  tea." 

"  I  expect  to  have  it  soon,"  replied  ray  mother. 

"  Indeed  !"  said  I,  in  surprise.  "  Have  you 
anything  in  the  kettle  1 " 

"  Nothing  but  water,  my  son." 

"  Has  anybody  brought  you  anything,  then, 
since  I  went  out  V 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  15 

"  Nobody." 

"  Why,  then,  mistress,"  broke  in  the  seaman, 
"  how  can  you  expect  to  have  your  tea  so  soon  ?" 

My  mother  took  off  her  spectacles,  looked 
calmly  in  the  man's  face,  laid  her  hand  on  the 
Bible,  and  said,  "  Because  I  have  been  a  widow- 
woman  these  three  years,  and  never  once  in  all 
that  time  have  I  gone  a  single  day  without  a  meal. 
When  the  usual  hour  came  I  put  on  my  kettle  to 
boil,  for  this  Word  tells  me  that  '  the  Lord  will 
provide.'     I  expect  my  tea  to-night." 

The  sailor's  face  expressed  puzzled  astonish- 
ment at  these  words,  and  he  continued  to  regard 
my  mother  with  a  look  of  wonder  as  he  drew 
forth  his  supplies  of  food,  and  laid  them  on  the 
table. 

In  a  short  time  we  were  all  enjoying  a  cup  of 
tea,  and  talking  about  the  whale-fishery  and  the 
difficulty  of  my  going  away  while  my  mother  was 
dependent  on  me.  At  last  the  sailor  rose  to 
leave  us.  Taking  a  five-pound  note  from  his 
pocket,  he  laid  it  on  the  table  and  said — 

.  "  Mistress,  this  is  all  I  have  in  the  world,  but 
I've  got  neither  famUy  nor  friends,  and  I'm  bound 
for  the  South  Seas  in  six  days  ;  so,  if  you'll  take 
it,  you're  welcome  to  it,  and  if  your  son  Bob  can 
manage  to  cast  loose  from  you  without  leaving 
you  to  sink,  I'll  take  him  aboard  the  ship  that  I 
sail  in.     He'll  always  find  me  at  the  BuU  and 


16  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

GriflBn,  in  the  High  Street,  or  at  the  end  o'  the 
pier." 

While  the  sailor  was  speaking,  I  observed  a 
figure  standing  in  a  dark  corner  of  the  room  near 
the  door,  and,  on  looking  more  closely,  I  found 
that  it  was  the  old  gentleman  with  the  nose  like 
his  cane  knob.  Seeing  that  he  was  observed,  he 
came  forward  and  said — 

"  I  trust  that  you  will  forgive  my  coming  here 
without  invitation  ;  but  I  happened  to  overhear 
part  of  the  conversation  between  your  son  and 
this  seaman,  and  I  am  willing  to  help  you  over 
your  little  difficulty,  if  you  will  allow  me," 

The  old  gentleman  said  this  in  a  very  quick, 
abrupt  way,  and  looked  as  if  he  were  afraid  his 
offer  might  be  refused.  He  was  much  heated, 
with  climbing  our  long  stair  no  doubt,  and  as  he 
stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  puffing  and 
wiping  his  bald  head  with  a  handkerchief,  my 
mother  rose  hastily  and  offered  him  a  chair. 

"  You  are  very  kind,  sir,"  she  said  ;  "  do  sit 
down,  sir.  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  why  you 
should  take  so  much  trouble.  But,  dear  me,  you 
are  very  warm  ;  will  you  take  a  cup  of  tea  to 
cool  you  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,  thank  you.  With  much  plea- 
sure, unless,  indeed,  your  son  objects  to  a  'stingy 
old  chap '  sitting  beside  him." 

I  blushed  when  he  repeated  my  words,  and 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  17 

attempted  to  make  some  apology  ;  but  the  old 
gentleman  stopped  me  by  commencing  to  explain 
his  intentions  in  short,  rapid  sentences. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  he  offered  to  look 
after  my  mother  while  I  was  away,  and,  to  prove 
his  sincerity,  laid  down  five  shillings,  and  said  he 
would  call  with  that  sum  every  week  as  long  as 
I  was  absent.  My  mother,  after  some  trouble, 
agreed  to  let  me  go,  and,  before  that  evening 
closed,  everything  was  arranged,  and  the  gentle- 
man, leaving  his  address,  went  away. 

The  sailor  had  been  so  much  filled  with  sur- 
prise at  the  suddenness  of  all  this,  that  he  could 
scarcely  speak.  Immediately  after  the  departure 
of  the  old  gentleman,  he  said,  "  Well,  good-bye, 
mistress,  good-bye.  Bob,"  and  throwing  on  his  haT 
in  a  careless  way,  left  the  room. 

*'  Stop,"  I  shouted  after  him,  when  he  had  got 
about  half-way  down  stair, 

"  Hallo  !  wot's  wrong  now  1 " 

"Nothing,  I  only  forgot  to  ask  your  name." 

"Tom  Lokins,"  he  bellowed,  in  the  hoarse 
voice  of  a  regular  boatswain,  "  w'ich  wos  my 
father's  name  before  me." 

So  saying,  he  departed,  whistling  "  Rule  Bri- 
tannia" with  all  his  might. 

Thus  the  matter  was  settled.  Six  days  after- 
wards, I  rigged  myself  out  in  a  blue  jacket,  white 
ducks,  and  a  straw  hat,  and  went  to  sea. 


18  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


CHAPTER    IL 

AT   SEA. 

MY  first  few  clays  on  the  ocean  were  so  miser- 
able, that  I  oftentimes  repented  of  hav- 
ing left  my  native  land.  I  was,  as  my  new 
friend  Tom  Lokins  said,  as  sick  as  a  dog.  But 
in  course  of  time  I  grew  well,  and  began  to  rejoice 
in  the  cool  fresh  breezes  and  the  great  rolling 
bUlows  of  the  sea. 

Many  and  many  a  time  I  used  to  creep  out  to 
the  end  of  the  bowsprit,  when  the  weather  was 
calm,  and  sit,  with  my  legs  dangling  over  the 
deep  blue  water,  and  my  eyes  fixed  on  the  great 
masses  of  rolling  clouds  in  the  sky,  thinking  of 
the  new  course  of  life  I  had  just  begun.  At  such 
times  the  thought  of  my  mother  was  sure  to  come 
into  my  mind,  and  I  thought  of  her  parting 
words,  "  Put  your  trust  in  the  Lord,  Robert,  and 
read  His  Word."  I  resolved  to  try  to  obey  her, 
but  this  I  found  was  no  easy  matter,  for  the 
Bailors  were  a  rough  lot  of  fellows,  who  cared  little 
for  the  Bible.  But,  I  must  say,  they  were  a  hearty, 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  19 

good-natured  set,  and  much  better,  upon  the 
whole,  than  many  a  ship's  crew  that  I  afterwards 
sailed  with. 

We  were  fortunate  in  having  fair  winds  this 
voyage,  and  soon  found  ourselves  on  the  other 
side  of  the  line,  as  we  jack-tars  call  the  Equa- 
tor. 

Of  course  the  crew  did  not  forget  the  old  cus- 
tom of  shaving  all  the  men  who  had  never  crossed 
the  line  before.  Our  captain  was  a  jolly  old  man, 
and  uncommonly  fond  of  "  sky-larking."  He 
gave  us  leave  to  do  what  we  liked  the  day  we 
crossed  the  line  ;  so,  as  there  were  a  number  of 
wild  spirits  among  us,  we  broke  through  all  the 
ordinary  rules,  or,  rather,  we  added  on  new  rules 
to  them. 

The  old  hands  had  kept  the  matter  quiet  from 
us  greenhorns,  so  that,  although  we  knew  they 
were  going  to  do  some  sort  of  mischief,  we  didn't 
exactly  understand  what  it  was  to  be. 

About  noon  of  that  day  I  was  called  on  deck 
and  told  that  old  father  Neptune  was  coming 
aboard,  and  we  were  to  be  ready  to  receive  him. 
A  minute  after  I  saw  a  tremendous  monster  come 
up  over  the  side  of  the  ship  and  jump  on  the 
deck.  He  was  crowned  with  sea- weed,  and  painted 
in  a  wonderful  fashion  ;  his  clothes  were  dripping 
wet,  as  if  he  had  just  come  from  the  bottom  of 
the  sea.     After  him  came  another  monster  with 


20  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

a  petticoat  made  of  sailcloth  and  a  tippet  of  a  bit 
of  old  tarpaulin.  This  was  Neptune's  wife,  and 
these  two  carried  on  the  most  remarkable  antics 
I  ever  saw.  I  laughed  heartily,  and  soon  dis- 
covered, from  the  tones  of  their  voices,  which  of 
my  shipmates  Neptune  and  his  wife  were.  But 
my  mirth  was  quickly  stopped  when  I  was  sud- 
denly seized  by  several  men.  and  my  face  was 
covered  over  with  a  horrible  mixture  of  tar  and 
grease  ! 

Six  of  us  youngsters  were  treated  in  this  way  ; 
then  the  lather  was  scraped  off  with  a  piece  of 
old  hoop-iron,  and,  after  being  thus  shaved,  buckets 
of  cold  water  were  thrown  over  us. 

At  last,  after  a  prosperous  voyage,  we  arrived 
at  our  fishing-ground  in  the  South  Seas,  and  a 
feeling  of  excitement  and  expectation  began  to 
show  itself  among  the  men,  insomuch  that  our 
very  eyes  seemed  brighter  than  usual. 

One  night  those  of  us  who  had  just  been  re- 
lieved from  watch  on  deck,  were  sitting  on  the 
lockers  down  below  telling  ghost  stories. 

It  was  a  dead  calm,  and  one  of  those  intensely 
dark,  hot  nights,  that  cause  sailors  to  feel  uneasy, 
they  scarce  know  why.  I  began  to  feel  so  un- 
comfortable at  last,  listening  to  the  horrible  tales 
which  Tom  Lokins  was  relating  to  the  men,  that 
I  slipt  away  from  them  with  the  intention  of 
going  on  deck.     I  moved  so  quietly  that  no  one 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES, 


21 


observed  me ;  besides,  every  eye  was  fixed  ear- 
nestly on  Tom,  whose  deep  low  voice  was  the 
only  sound  that  broke  the  stillness  of  all  around. 
As  I  was  going  very  cautiously  up  the  ladder 
leading  to  the  deck,  Tom  had  reached  that  part 
of  his  story  where  the  ghost  was  just  appearing 
in  a  dark  churchyard,  dressed  in  white,  and 
coming  slowly  forward,  one  step  at  a  time,  to- 
wards the  terrified  man  who  saw  it.  The  men 
held  their  breath,  and  one  or  two  of  their  faces 
turned  pale  as  Tom  went  on  with  his  description, 
lowering  his  voice  to  a  hoarse  whisper.  Just  as 
I  put  my  head  up  the  hatchway  the  sheet  of  one 
of  the  sails,  which  was  hanging  loose  in  the  still 
air,  passed  gently  over  my  head  and  knocked  my 
hat  ofi".  At  any  other  time  I  would  have  thought 
nothing  of  this,  but  Tom's  story  had  thrown  me 
into  such  an  excited  and  nervous  condition  that  I 
gave  a  start,  missed  my  footing,  uttered  a  loud 
cry,  and  fell  down  the  ladder  right  in  among  the 
men  with  a  tremendous  crash,  knocking  over  two 
or  three  oil-cans  and  a  tin  bread-basket  in  my 
fall,  and  upsetting  the  lantern,  so  that  the  place 
was  instantly  pitch  dark. 

I  never  heard  such  a  howl  of  terror  as  these 
men  gave  vent  to  when  this  misfortune  befell  me. 
They  rushed  upon  deck  with  their  hearts  in  their 
mouths,  tumbling,  and  peeling  the  skin  oft'  their 
shins  and  knuckles  in  their  haste  ;  and  it  was  not 


22  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

until  they  heard  the  laughter  of  the  watch  on 
deck  that  they  breathed  freely,  and,  joining  in  the 
laugh,  called  themselves  fools  for  being  frightened 
by  a  ghost  story.  I  noticed,  however,  that,  for 
all  their  pretended  indifference,  there  was  not  one 
man  among  them — not  even  Tom  Lokins  himself — 
who  would  go  down  below  to  re-light  the  lantern 
for  at  least  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards  ! 

Feeling  none  the  worse  for  my  fall,  I  went 
forward  and  leaned  over  the  bow  of  the  ship, 
where  I  was  much  astonished  by  the  appearance 
of  the  sea.  It  seemed  as  if  the  water  was  on 
fire.  Every  time  the  ship's  bow  rose  and  fell, 
the  little  belt  of  foam  made  in  the  water  seemed 
like  a  belt  of  blue  flame  with  brfght  sparkles  in 
it,  like  stars  or  diamonds.  I  had  seen  this  curious 
appearance  before,  but  never  so  bright  as  it  was 
on  that  night. 

"  What  is  it,  Tom  ?"  said  I,  as  my  friend  came 
forward  and  leaned  over  the  ship's  bulwark  beside 
me. 

"  It's  blue  fire.  Bob,"  replied  Tom,  as  he 
smoked  his  pipe  calmly. 

"  Come,  you  know  I  can't  swallow  that,"  said 
I  ;  "  everybody  knows  that  fire,  either  blue  or 
red,  can't  burn  in  the  water." 

"  May  be  not,"  returned  Tom ;  "  but  it's  blue 
fire  for  all  that.  Leastwise  if  it's  Qot,  I  don't 
know  wot  else  it  is." 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  23 

Tom  had  often  seen  this  light  before,  no  doubt, 
but  he  had  never  given  himself  the  trouble  to 
find  out  what  it  could  be.  Fortunately  the  cap- 
tain came  up  just  as  I  put  the  question,  and  he 
enlightened  me  on  the  subject. 

"It  is  caused  by  small  animals,"  said  he, 
leaning  over  the  side. 

"  Small  animals  ! "  said  I,  in  astonishment. 

"  Ay,  many  parts  of  the  sea  are  full  of  crea- 
tures so  small  and  so  thin  and  colourless,  that 
you  can  hardly  see  them  even  in  a  clear  glass 
tumbler.  Many  of  them  are  larger  than  others, 
but  the  most  of  them  are  very  small." 

"  But  how  do  they  shine  like  that,  sir  V  I  asked. 

«  That  I  do  not  know,  boy.  God  has  given 
them  the  power  to  shine,  just  as  he  has  given  us 
the  power  to  walk  or  speak  ;  and  they  do  shine 
brightly,  as  you  see  ;  but  how  they  do  it  is  more 
than  I  can  tell.  I  think,  myself,  it  must  be 
anger  that  makes  them  shine,  for  they  generally 
do  it  when  they  are  stirred  up  or  knocked  about 
by  oars,  or  ship's  keels,  or  tumbling  waves.  But 
I  am  not  sure  that  that's  the  reason  either,  be- 
cause, you  know,  we  often  sail  through  them 
without  seeing  the  light,  though  of  course  they 
must  be  there." 

"  P'raps,  sir,"  said  Tom  Lokins  ;  "  p'raps,  sir, 
they're  sleepy  sometimes,  an'  can't  be  bothered 
gettin'  angry." 


24  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

"Perhaps!"  answered  the  captain,  laughing. 
"  But  then  again,  at  other  times,  I  have  seen 
them  shining  over  the  whole  sea  when  it  was 
quite  calm,  making  it  like  an  ocean  of  milk  ;  and 
nothing  was  disturbing  them  at  that  time,  d'ye 
see." 

"  I  don'  know  that"  objected  Tom  ;  "  they 
might  have  bin  a-fightin'  among  theirselves." 

"  Or  playing,  may  be,"  said  I. 

The  captain  laughed,  and,  looking  up  at  the 
sky,  said,  "  I  don't  like  the  look  of  the  weather, 
Tom  Lokius.  You're  a  sharp  fellow,  and  have 
been  in  these  seas  before,  what  say  you  V 

"  We'll  have  a  breeze,"  replied  Tom,  briefly. 

"  More  than  a  breeze,"  muttered  the  captain, 
while  a  look  of  grave  anxiety  overspread  his 
countenance  ;  "  I  '11  go  below  and  take  a  squint  at 
the  glass." 

"  What  does  he  mean  by  that,  Tom,"  said  I, 
when  the  captain  was  gone,  "  I  never  saw  a 
calmer  or  a  finer  night.  Surely  there  is  no  chance 
of  a  storm  just  now." 

"Ay,  that  shows  that  you're  a  young  feller, 
and  ha'nt  got  much  experience  o'  them  seas,"  re- 
plied my  companion.  "  Why,  boy,  sometimes  the 
fiercest  storm  is  brewin'  behind  the  greatest  calm. 
An'  the  worst  o'  the  thing  is  that  it  comes  so 
sudden  at  times,  that  the  masts  are  torn  out  o' 
the  ship  before  you  can  say  Jack  Robinson." 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  25 

"  What  !  and  without  any  warning  1"  saiil  I. 

"  Ay,  almost  without  warnin'  ;  but  not  alto- 
gether without  it.  You  heer'd  the  captain  say 
he'd  go  an'  take  a  squint  at  the  glass  1" 

"  Yes  ;  what  is  the  glass  ? " 

"  It 's  not  a  glass  o'  grog,  you  may  he  sure  ; 
nor  yet  a  lookin'-glass.  It's  the  weather-glass, 
boy.      Shore-goin'  chaps  call  it  a  barometer." 

"And  what's  the  meaning  of  barometer  ]"  I 
inquired  earnestly. 

Tom  Lokins  stared  at  me  in  stupid  amazement. 
"  Why,  boy,"  said  he,  "  you're  too  inquisitive.  I 
once  asked  the  doctor  o'  a  ship  that  question,  and 
says  he  to  me,  '  Tom,'  says  he,  '  a  barometer  is  a 
glass  tube  filled  with  quicksilver  or  mercury, 
which  is  a  metal  in  a  soft  or  fluid  state,  like 
water,  you  know,  and  it's  meant  for  tellin'  the 
state  o'  the  weather.'" 

"  '  Yes,  sir,'  I  answers,  '  I  know  that  well 
enough.' 

"  '  Then  why  did  you  ask?'  says  he,  gittin'  into 
a  passion. 

"  *  I  asked  what  was  the  meanin'  o'  the  word 
barometer,  sir,'  said  I. 

"  The  doctor  he  looked  grave  at  that,  and 
shook  his  head.  *  Tom,'  says  he,  '  if  I  was  to  go 
for  to  explain  that  word,  and  all  about  the  instru- 
ment, in  a  scientific  sort  o'  way,  d'ye  see,  I'd 
have  to  sit  here  an'  speak  to  you  right  on  end  for 
six  hours  or  more.' 


26  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

*' '  Oh,  sir,'  says  I,  '  don't  do  it,  then.  Please, 
don't  do  it.' 

"  '  No  more  I  will,'  says  he  ;  '  but  it  '11  serve 
your  turn  to  know  that  a  barometer  is  a  glass  for 
measurin'  the  weight  o'  the  air,  and,  somehow  or 
other,  that  lets  ye  know  wots  a-coming.'  If  the 
mercury  in  the  glass  rises  high,  all's  right.  If  it 
falls  uncommon  low  very  sudden,  look  out  for 
squalls  ;  that's  all.  No  matter  how  smooth  the 
sea  may  be,  or  how  sweetly  all  natur'  may  smile, 
don't  you  believe  it ;  take  in  every  inch  o'  canvas 
at  once.' 

"  That  was  a  queer  explanation,  Tom." 

"  Ay,  but  it  was  a  true  one,  as  you  shall  see 
before  long." 

As  I  looked  out  upon  the  calm  sea,  which  lay 
like  a  sheet  of  glass,  without  a  ripple  on  its  sur- 
face, I  could  scarcely  believe  what  he  had  said. 
But  before  many  minutes  had  passed  I  was  con- 
vinced of  my  error. 

While  I  was  standing  talking  to  my  messmate, 
the  captain  rushed  on  deck,  and  shouted — 

"  All  hands  tumble  up  !  Shorten  sail  !  Take 
in  every  rag  !     Look  alive,  boys,  look  alive  !" 

I  was  quite  stunned  for  a  moment  by  this,  and 
by  the  sudden  tumult  that  followed.  The  men, 
who  seemed  never  to  take  thought  about  anything, 
and  who  had  but  one  duty,  namely,  to  obey  orders, 
ran  upon  deck,  and  leaped  up  the  rigging  like  cats ; 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  27 

the  sheets  of  nearly  all  the  principal  sails  were 
clewed  up,  and,  ere  long,  the  canvas  was  made  fast 
to  the  yards.  A  few  of  the  smaller  sails  only  were 
left  exposed,  and  even  these  were  close-reefed. 
Before  long  a  loud  roar  was  heard,  and  in  another 
minute  the  storm  burst  upon  us  with  terrific  vio- 
lence. The  ship  at  first  lay  over  so  much  that 
the  masts  were  almost  in  the  water,  and  it  was 
as  impossible  for  any  one  to  walk  the  deck  as  to 
walk  along  the  side  of  a  wall.  At  the  same 
time,  the  sea  was  lashed  into  white  foam,  and  the 
blinding  spray  flew  over  us  in  bitter  fury. 

"  Take  in  the  topsails  !"  roared  the  captain. 
But  his  voice  was  drowned  in  the  shriek  of  the 
gale.  The  men  were  saved  the  risk  of  going  out 
on  the  yards,  however,  for  in  a  few  moments  more 
all  the  sails,  except  the  storm-try-sail,  were  burst 
and  blown  to  ribV)ons. 

We  now  tried  to  put  the  ship's  head  to  the 
wind  and  "  lay  to"  by  which  landsmen  will 
understand  that  we  tried  to  face  the  storm,  and 
remain  stationary.  But  the  gale  was  so  fierce 
that  this  was  impossible.  The  last  rag  of  sail 
was  blown  away,  and  then  there  was  nothing  left 
for  us  but  to  show  our  stern  to  the  gale,  and 
"  scud  under  bare  poles." 

The  great  danger  now  was  that  we  might  be 
"  pooped,"  which  means  that  a  huge  wave  might 
curl  over  our  stem,  fall  with  terrible  fury  on  our 
deck,  and  sink  us. 


28  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

Many  and  many  a  good  ship  has  gone  down  in 
this  way  ;  but  we  were  mercifully  spared.  As 
our  safety  depended  very  much  on  good  steering, 
the  captain  himself  took  the  wheel,  and  managed 
the  ship  so  well,  that  we  weathered  the  gale  with- 
out damage,  farther  than  the  loss  of  a  few  sails 
and  light  spars.  For  two  days  the  storm  howled 
furiously,  the  sky  and  sea  were  like  ink,  with 
sheets  of  rain  and  foam  driving  through  the  air, 
and  raging  billows  tossing  our  ship  about  like  a 
cork. 

During  all  this  time  my  shipmates  were  quiet 
and  grave,  but  active  and  full  of  energy,  so  that 
every  order  was  at  once  obeyed  without  noise  or 
confusion.  Every  man  watched  the  slightest 
motion  of  the  captain.  We  all  felt  that  every- 
thing depended  on  him. 

As  for  me,  I  gave  up  all  hope  of  being  saved. 
It  seemed  impossible  to  me  that  anything  that 
man  could  build  could  withstand  so  terrible  a 
storm.  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  I  was  not 
afraid.  The  near  prospect  of  a  violent  death 
caused  my  heart  to  sink  more  than  once  ;  but  my 
feelings  did  not  unman  me.  I  did  my  duty 
quietly,  but  quickly,  like  the  rest  ; .  and  when  I 
had  no  work  to  do,  I  stood  holding  on  to  the 
weather  stanchions,  looking  at  the  raging  sea, 
and  think  of  my  mother,  and  of  the  words  of 
kindness  and  counsel  she  had  so  often  bestowed 
upon  me  in  vain. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  29 

The  storm  ceased  almost  as  quickly  as  it  began, 
and  although  the  sea  did  not  all  at  once  stop  the 
heavings  of  its  angry  bosom,  the  wind  fell  entirely 
in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  the  dark  clouds 
broke  up  into  great  masses  that  were  piled  up 
high  into  the  sky,  and  out  of  the  midst  of  these 
the  glorious  sun  shone  in  bright  rays  down  on  the 
ocean,  like  comfort  from  heaven,  gladdening  our 
hearts  as  we  busily  repaired  the  damage  that  we 
had  suffered  from  the  storm. 


^ 


30  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


CHAPTER  III. 

OUR    FIRST   BATTLE. 

I  SHALL  never  forget  the  surprise  T  got  the 
first  time  I  saw  a  whale. 

It  was  in  the  forenoon  of  a  most  splendid  day, 
about  a  week  after  we  arrived  at  that  part  of  the 
ocean  where  we  might  expect  to  find  fish.  A 
light  nor'-east  breeze  was  blowing,  but  it  scarcely- 
ruffled  the  sea,  as  we  crept  slowly  through  the 
water  with  every  stitch  of  canvas  set. 

As  we  had  been  looking  out  for  fish  for  some 
time  past,  everything  was  in  readiness  for  them. 
The  boats  were  hanging  over  the  side  ready  to 
lower,  tubs  for  coiling  away  the  ropes,  harpoons, 
lances,  etc.,  all  were  ready  to  throw  in,  and  start 
away  at  a  moment's  notice.  The  man  in  the 
"  crow's  nest,"  a-s  they  call  the  cask  fixed  up  at 
the  masthead,  was  looking  anxiously  out  for 
whales,  and  the  crew  were  idling  about  the  deck. 
Tom  Lokins  was  seated  on  the  windlass  smoking 
his  pipe,  and  I  was  sitting  beside  him  on  an 
empty  cask,  sharpening  a  blubber-knife. 


riGUTING  THE  WHALES.  31 

«  Tom,"  said  I,  "  what  like  is  a  whale  1" 

"  Why,  it's  like  nothin'  but  itself,"  replied 
Tom,  looking  puzzled.  "  Why,  wot  a  queer  feller 
you  are  to  ax  questions." 

"  I'm  sure  you've  seen  plenty  of  them.  You 
might  be  able  to  tell  what  a  whale  is  like." 

"  Wot  it's  like  !  Well,  it's  like  a  tremendous 
big  bolster  with  a  head  and  a  tail  to  it." 

"And  how  big  is  it?" 

"  They're  of  all  sizes,  lad.  I've  seen  one  that 
was  exactly  equal  to  three  hundred  fat  bulls,  and 
its  rate  of  goin'  would  take  it  round  the  whole 
world  in  twenty-three  days." 

"  I  don't  believe  you,"  said  I,  laughing. 

"Don't  your'  cried  Tom;  "it's  a  fact  not- 
withstandin',  for  the  captain  himself  said  so,  and 
that's  how  I  came  to  know  it." 

Just  as  Tom  finished  speaking,  the  man  in  the 
crow's  nest  roared  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  There 
she  blows  ! " 

That  was  the  signal  that  a  whale  was  in  sight, 
and  as  it  was  the  first  time  we  had  heard  it  that 
season,  every  man  in  the  ship  was  thrown  into  a 
state  of  tremendous  excitement. 

"  There  she  blows  !"  roared  the  man  again. 

"  Where  away  ?"  shouted  the  captain. 

"  About  two  miles  right  a-head." 

In  another  moment  the  utmost  excitement  pre- 
vailed on  board.     Suddenly,  while  I  was  looking 


32  ■  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

over  the  side,  straining  my  eyes  to  catch  a  sight 
of  the  whale,  which  could  not  yet  be  seen  by  the 
men  on  deck,  I  saw  a  brown  object  apjDear  in  the 
sea,  not  twenty  yards  from  the  side  of  the  ship  ; 
before  I  had  time  to  ask  what  it  was,  a  whale's 
head  rose  to  the  surface,  and  shot  up  out  of  the 
water.  The  part  of  the  fish  that  was  visible  above 
water  could  not  have  been  less  than  thirty  feet 
in  length.  It  just  looked  as  if  our  longboat 
had  jumped  out  of  the  sea,  and  he  was  so  near 
that  I  coidd  see  his  great  mouth  quite  plainly. 
I  could  have  tossed  a  biscuit  on  his  back  easily. 
Sending  two  thick  spouts  of  frothy  water  out  of 
his  blow-holes  forty  feet  into  the  air  with  tremen- 
dous noise,  he  fell  flat  upon  the  sea  with  a  clap 
like  thunder,  tossed  his  flukes  or  tail  high  into 
the  air,  and  disappeared. 

I  was  so  amazed  at  this  sight  that  I  could  not 
speak.  I  could  only  stare  at  the  place  where  the 
huge  monster  had  gone  down. 

"  Stand  by  to  lower,"  shouted  the  captain. 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  replied  the  men,  leaping  to  their 
appointed  stations  ;  for  every  man  in  a  whale- 
ship  has  his  post  of  duty  appointed  to  him,  and 
knows  what  to  do  when  an  order  is  given. 

*'  Lower  away,"  cried  the  captain,  whose  face 
was  now  blazing  with  excitement. 

In  a  moment  more  three  boats  were  in  the 
water ;  the  tubs,  harpoons,  etc.,  were  thrown  in, 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  33 

the  men  seized  the  oars,  and  away  they  went  with 
a  cheer.  I  was  in  such  a  state  of  flutter  that  I 
scarce  knew  what  I  did  ;  but  I  managed  some- 
how or  other  to  get  into  a  boat,  and  as  I  was  a 
strong  fellow,  and  a  good  rower,  I  was  allowed 
to  pull. 

"  There  she  blows !"  cried  the  man  in  the  crow's 
nest,  just  as  we  shot  from  the  side  of  the  ship. 
There  was  no  need  to  ask,  "where  away"  this 
time.  Another  whale  rose  and  spouted  not  more 
than  three  hundred  yards  off,  and  before  we  could 
speak  a  third  fish  rose  in  another  direction,  and 
we  found  ourselves  in  the  middle  of  what  is  called 
a  "  school  of  whales." 

"  Now,  lads,"  said  the  captain,  who  steered  the 
boat  in  which  I  rowed,  "  bend  your  backs,  my 
hearties ;  that  fish  right  a-head  of  us  is  a  hun- 
dred-barrel whale  for  certain.  Give  way,  boys  ; 
we  mtist  have  that  fish." 

There  was  no  need  to  urge  the  men,  for  their 
backs  were  strained  to  the  utmost,  their  faces 
were  flushed,  and  the  big  veins  in  their  necks 
swelled  almost  to  bursting,  with  the  tremendous 
exertion. 

"  Hold  hard,"  said  the  captain  in  a  low  voice, 
for  now  that  we  were  getting  near  our  prey,  we 
made  as  little  noise  as  possible. 

The  men  at  once  threw  their  oars  "  apeak," 
as  they  say;  that  is,  raised  them  straight  up  in 


34  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

the  air,  and  waited  for  further  orders.  We 
expected  the  whale  would  rise  near  to  where 
we  were,  and  thought  it  best  to  rest  and  look 
out. 

While  we  were  waiting,  Tom  Lokins,  who  was 
harpooneer  of  the  boat,  sat  just  behind  me  with 
all  his  irons  ready.  He  took  this  opportunity  to 
explain  to  me  that  by  a  "  hundred  barrel  fish" 
is  meant  a  fish  that  will  yield  a  hundred  barrels 
of  oil.  He  further  informed  me  that  such  a  fish 
was  a  big  one,  though  he  had  seen  a  few  in  the 
North-West  Seas  that  had  produced  upwards  of 
two  hundi-ed  barrels. 

I  now  observed  that  the  other  boats  had  sepa- 
rated, and  each  had  gone  after  a  diftereut  whale. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  fish  we  were  in  chase  of 
rose  a  short  distance  off",  and  sent  up  two  splendid 
water-spouts  high  into  the  air,  thus  showing  that 
he  was  what  the  whalers  call  a  "right"  whale. 
It  is  different  from  the  sperm  whale,  which  has 
only  one  blow-hole,  and  that  a  little  one. 

We  rowed  towards  it  with  all  our  might,  and 
as  we  drew  near,  the  captain  ordered  Tom  Lokins 
to  "  stand  up,"  so  he  at  once  laid  in  his  oar,  and 
took  up  the  harpoon.  The  harpoon  is  an  iron 
lance  with  a  barbed  point.  A  whale-line  is  at- 
tached to  it,  and  this  line  is  coiled  away  in  a  tub. 
When  we  were  within  a  few  yards  of  the  fish, 
which  was  going  slowly  through  the  water,  all 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  35 

ignorant  of  the  terrible  foes  who  were  pursuing 
Mm,  Tom  Lokins  raised  the  harpoon  high  above 
his  head,  and  darted  it  deep  into  its  fat  side  just 
behind  the  left  fin,  and  next  moment  the  boat  ran 
aground  on  the  whale's  back. 

"  Stern  all,  for  your  hves  !"  roared  the  captain, 
who,  before  his  order  was  obeyed,  managed  to  give 
the  creature  two  deep  wounds  with  his  lance.  The 
lance  has  no  barbs  to  its  point,  and  is  used  only 
for  wounding  after  the  harpoon  is  fixed. 

The  boat  was  backed  off  at  once,  but  it  had 
scarcely  got  a  few  yards  away  when  the  astonished 
fish  whirled  its  huge  body  half  out  of  the  water, 
and,  coming  down  with  a  tremendous  clap,  made 
oQ"  like  lightning. 

The  line  was  passed  round  a  strong  piece  of 
wood  called  the  "  logger-head,"  and,  in  running 
out,  it  began  to  smoke,  and  nearly  set  the  wood 
on  fire.  Indeed,  it  would  have  done  so,  if  a  man 
had  not  kept  constantly  pouring  water  upon  it. 
It  was  needful  to  be  very  cautious  in  managing 
the  line,  for  the  duty  is  attended  with  great 
danger.  If  any  hitch  should  take  place,  the 
line  is  apt  to  catch  the  boat  and  drag  it  down 
bodily  under  the  waves.  Sometimes  a  coil  of  it 
gets  round  a  leg  or  an  arm  of  the  man  who 
attends  to  it,  in  which  case  his  destruction  is 
almost  certain.  Many  a  poor  fellow  has  lost  his 
life  in  this  way. 


3G  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

The  order  was  now  given  to  "  hold  on  line." 
This  was  done,  and  in  a  moment  our  boat  was 
cleaving  the  blue  water  like  an  arrow,  while  the 
white  foam  curled  from  her  bows.  I  thought 
every  moment  we  should  be  dragged  under ;  but 
whenever  this  seemed  likely  to  happen,  the  line 
was  let  run  a  bit,  and  the  strain  eased.  At  last 
the  fish  grew  tired  of  dragging  us,  the  line 
ceased  to  run  out,  and  Tom  hauled  in  the  slack, 
which  another  man  coiled  away  in  its  tub.  Pre- 
sently the  fish  rose  to  the  surface,  a  short  distance 
off  our  weather-bow. 

"  Give  way,  boys !  spring  your  oars,"  cried 
the  captain  ;  "  another  touch  or  two  with  the 
lance,  and  that  fish  is  ours." 

The  boat  shot  ahead,  and  we  were  about  to 
dart  a  second  harpoon  into  the  whale's  side,  when 
it  took  to  "  sounding," — which  means,  that  it 
went  straight  down,  head  foremost,  into  the  depths 
of  the  sea.  At  that  moment  Tom  Lokins  uttered 
a  cry  of  mingled  anger  and  disappointment.  We 
all  turned  round  and  saw  our  shipmate  standing 
with  the  slack  line  in  his  hand,  and  such  an  ex- 
pression on  his  weather-beaten  face,  that  I  could 
scarce  help  laughing.  The  harpoon  had  not  been 
well  fixed  ;  it  had  lost  its  hold,  and  the  fish  was 
now  free  ! 

"  Gone !"  exclaimed  the  captain,  with  a 
groan. 


FIGHTING  THE  "VVHALFS.  37 

I  remember  even  yet  the  feeling  of  awful  dis- 
appointment that  came  over  me  when  I  under- 
stood that  we  had  lost  the  fish  after  all  our 
trouble  !  I  could  almost  have  wept  with  bitter 
vexation.  As  for  my  comrades,  they  sat  staring 
at  each  other  for  some  moments  quite  speechless. 
Before  we  could  recover  from  the  state  into  which 
this  misfortune  had  thrown  us,  one  of  the  men 
suddenly  shouted,  "  Hallo  !  there's  the  mate's  boat 
in  distress." 

We  turned  at  once,  and,  truly,  there  was  no 
doubt  of  the  truth  of  this,  for,  about  half  a  mile 
off,  we  beheld  our  first  mate's  boat  tearing  over 
the  sea  like  a  small  steamer.  It  was  fast  to  a 
fish,  and  two  oars  were  set  up  on  end  to  attract 
our  attention. 

When  a  whale  is  struck,  it  sometimes  happens 
that  the  whole  of  the  line  in  a  boat  is  run  out. 
When  this  is  about  to  occur,  it  becomes  necessary 
to  hold  on  as  much  as  can  be  done  without  run- 
ning the  boat  under  the  water,  and  an  oar  is  set 
up  on  end  to  show  that  assistance  is  required, 
either  from  the  ship  or  from  the  other  boats.  As 
the  line  grows  less  and  less,  another  and  another 
oar  is  hoisted  to  show  that  help  must  be  sent 
quickly.  If  no  assistance  can  be  sent,  the  only 
thing  that  remains  to  be  done  is  to  cut  the  line 
and  lose  the  fish  ;  but  a  whale  line,  with  its 
harpoon,  is  a  very  heavy  loss,  in  addition  to  that 


38  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

of  the  fish,  so  that  whalers  are  tempted  to  hold 
on  a  little  too  long  sometimes. 

When  we  saw  the  mate's  boat  dashing  away  in 
this  style,  we  forgot  our  grief  at  the  loss  of  our 
whale  in  anxiety  to  render  assistance  to  our  com- 
rades, and  we  rowed  towards  them  as  fast  as  we 
could.  Fortunately  the  whale  changed  its  course 
and  came  straight  towards  us,  so  that  we  ceased 
pulling,  and  waited  till  they  came  up.  As  the 
boat  came  on  I  saw  the  foam  curling  up  on  her 
bows  as  she  leaped  and  flew  over  the  sea.  I 
could  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that  wood  and 
iron  could  bear  such  a  strain.  In  a  few  minutes 
they  were  almost  abreast  of  us. 

"  You're  holding  too  hard  !"  shouted  the  cap- 
tain. 

"  Lines  all  out  !"  roared  the  mate. 

They  were  past  almost  before  these  short  sen- 
tences could  be  spoken.  But  they  had  not  gone 
twenty  yards  ahead  of  us  when  the  water  rushed 
in  over  the  bow,  and  before  we  could  utter  a 
word  the  boat  and  crew  were  gone.  Not  a  trace 
of  them  remained  !  The  horror  of  the  moment 
had  not  been  fully  felt,  however,  when  the  boat 
rose  to  the  surface  keel  up,  and,  one  after  another, 
the  heads  of  the  men  appeared.  The  line  bad 
fortunately  broken,  otherwise  the  boat  would  have 
been  lost,  and  the  entire  crew  probably  would 
have  gone  to  the  bottom  with  her. 


FIGHTING  THE  AVHALES.  39 

We  instantly  pulled  to  the  rescue,  and  were 
thankful  to  find  that  not  a  man  was  killed, 
though  some  of  them  were  a  little  hurt,  and  all 
had  received  a  terrible  fright.  We  next  set  to 
work  to  right  the  upset  boat,  an  operation  which 
was  not  accomplished  without  much  labour  and 
difficulty. 

Now,  while  we  were  thus  employed,  our  third 
boat,  which  was  in  charge  of  the  second  mate, 
had  gone  after  the  whale  that  had  caused  us  so 
much  trouble,  and  when  we  had  got  the  boat 
righted  and  began  to  look  about  us,  we  found 
that  she  was  fast  to  the  fish  about  a  mile  to 
leeward. 

"  Hiirrah,  lads  !"  cried  the  captain,  "luck  has 
not  left  us  yet.  Give  way  my  hearties,  pull  like 
Britons  !  we'll  get  that  fish  yet." 

We  were  all  dreadfully  done  up  by  this  time, 
but  the  sight  of  a  boat  fast  to  a  whale  restored 
us  at  once,  and  we  pulled  away  as  stoutly  as  if 
we  had  only  begun  the  day's  work.  The  whale 
was  heading  in  the  direction  of  the  ship,  and 
when  we  came  up  to  the  scene  of  action  the 
second  mate  had  just  • "  touched  the  life  ;"  in 
other  words,  he  had  driven  the  lance  deep  down 
into  the  whale's  vitals.  This  was  quickly  known 
by  jets  of  blood  being  spouted  up  through  the 
blow-holes.  Soon  after,  our  victim  went  into  its 
dying  agonies,  or,  as  whalemen  say,   "  his  fliu-ry." 


40  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

This  did  not  last  long.  In  a  short  time  he 
rolled  over  dead.  We  fastened  a  line  to  his  tail, 
the  three  boats  took  the  carcass  in  tow,  and, 
singing  a  lively  song,  we  rowed  away  to  the 
ship. 

Thus  ended  our  first  battle  with  the  whales. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  41 


CHAPTER   IV. 

"  CUTTING  IN  THE  BLUBBER"  AND  "  TRYING 
OUT  THE  OIL." 

THE  scene  that  took  place  on  board  ship  after 
we  caught  our  first  fish  was  most  wonder- 
ful. We  commenced  the  operation  of  what  is 
called  "  cutting  in,"  that  is,  cutting  up  the 
whale,  and  getting  the  fat  or  blubber  hoisted 
in.  The  next  thing  we  did  was  to  "  try  out" 
the  oil,  or  melt  down  the  fat  in  large  iron 
pots  brought  with  us  for  this  purpose  ;  and  the 
change  that  took  place  in  the  appearance  of  the 
ship  and  the  men  when  this  began  was  very  re- 
markable. 

When  we  left  port  our  decks  were  clean,  our 
sails  white,  our  masts  well  scraped  ;  the  brass- 
work  about  the  quarter-deck  was  well  polished, 
and  the  men  looked  tidy  and  clean.  A  few  hours 
after  our  first  whale  had  been  secured  alongside 
all  this  was  changed.  The  cutting  up  of  the  huge 
carcass  covered  the  decks  with  oil  and  blood,  mak- 
ing them  so  slippery  that  they  had  to  be  covered 


42  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

with  sand  to  enable  the  men  to  walk  about. 
Then  the  smoke  of  the  great  fires  under  the  melt- 
ing pots  begrimed  the  masts,  sails,  and  cordage 
with  soot.  The  faces  and  hands  of  the  men  got 
so  covered  with  oil  and  soot  that  it  would  have 
puzzled  any  one  to  say  whether  they  were  white 
or  black.  Their  clothes,  too,  became  so  dirty 
that  it  was  impossible  to  clean  them.  But,  in- 
deed, whalemen  do  not  much  mind  this.  In  fact, 
they  take  a  pleasure  in  all  the  dirt  that  surrounds 
them,  because  it  is  a  sign  of  success  in  the  main 
object  of  their  voyage.  The  men  in  a  clean  whale 
ship  are  never  happy.  When  everything  is  filthy, 
and  dirty,  and  greasy,  and  smoky,  and  black — 
decks,  rigging,  clothes,  and  persons — it  is  then 
that  the  hearty  laugh  and  jest  and  song  are  heard 
as  the  crew  work  busily,  night  and  day,  at  their 
rough  but  profitable  labour. 

The  operations  of  "  cutting  in"  and  "  trying 
out"  were  matters  of  great  interest  to  me  the 
first  time  I  saw  them. 

After  having  towed  our  whale  to  the  ship, 
cutting  in  was  immediately  begun.  First,  the 
carcass  was  secured  near  the  head  and  tail  with 
chains,  and  made  fast  to  the  ship  ;  then  the  great 
blocks  and  ropes  fastened  to  the  main  and  fore- 
mast for  hoisting  in  the  blubber  were  brought 
into  play.  When  all  was  ready,  the  captain  and 
the  two  mates  with  Tom   Lokins  got  upon  the 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  43 

whale's  body,  with  long-handled  sharp  spades  or 
digging-knives.  With  these  they  fell  to  work 
cutting  off  the  blubber. 

I  was  stationed  at  one  of  the  hoisting  ropes, 
and  while  we  were  waiting  for  the  signal  to 
"  hoist  away,"  I  peeped  over  the  side,  and  for  the 
first  time  had  a  good  look  at  the  great  fish. 
When  we  killed  it,  so  much  of  its  body  was  down 
in  the  water  that  I  could  not  see  it  very  clearly, 
but  now  that  it  was  lashed  at  full  length  along- 
side the  ship,  and  I  could  look  right  down  upon 
it,  I  began  to  understand  more  clearly  what  a 
large  creature  it  was.  One  thing  surprised  me 
much  ;  the  top  of  its  head,  which  was  rough  and 
knotty  like  the  bark  of  an  old  tree,  was  swarm- 
ing with  little  crabs  and  barnacles,  and  other  small 
creatures.  The  whale's  head  seemed  to  be  their 
regidar  home  !  This  fish  was  by  no  means  one 
of  the  largest  kind,  but  being  the  first  I  had  seen, 
T  fancied  it  must  be  the  largest  fish  in  the  sea. 

Its  body  was  forty  feet  long,  and  twenty  feet 
round  at  the  thickest  part.  Its  head,  which 
seemed  to  me  a  great,  blunt  shapeless  thing,  like 
a  clumsy  old  boat,  was  eight  feet  long  from  the 
tip  to  the  blow-holes  or  nostrils  ;  and  these  holes 
were  situated  on  the  back  of  the  head,  which  at 
that  part  was  nearly  four  feet  broad.  The  entire 
head  measured  about  twenty-one  feet  round.  Its 
ears  were  two  small  holes,  so  small  that  it  was 


44  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

difBciilt  to  discover  them,  and  the  eyes  were  also 
very  small  for  so  large  a  body,  being  about  the 
same  size  as  those  of  an  ox.  The  mouth  was 
very  large,  and  the  under  jaw  had  great  ugly  lips. 
When  it  was  dying,  I  saw  these  lips  close  in  once 
or  twice  on  its  fat  cheeks,  which  it  bulged  out  like 
the  leather  sides  of  a  pair  of  gigantic  bellows. 
It  had  two  fins,  one  on  each  side,  just  behind  the 
head.  With  these,  and  with  its  tail,  the  whale 
swims  and  fights.  Its  tail  is  its  most  deadly 
weapon.  The  flukes  of  this  one  measured  thir- 
teen feet  across,  and  with  one  stroke  of  this  it 
could  have  smashed  our  largest  boat  in  pieces. 
Many  a  boat  has  been  sent  to  the  bottom  in  this 
way. 

I  remember  hearing  our  first  mate  tell  of  a 
wonderful  escape  a  comrade  of  his  had  in  the 
Greenland  Sea  fishery.  A  whale  had  been  struck, 
and,  after  its  first  run,  they  hauled  up  to  it  again, 
and  rowed  so  hard  that  they  ran  the  boat  right 
against  it.  The  harpooneer  was  standing  on  the 
bow  aU  ready,  and  sent  his  iron  cleverly  into  the 
blubber.  In  its  agony  the  whale  reared  its  tail 
high  out  of  the  water,  and  the  flukes  whirled  for 
a  moment  like  a  great  fan  just  above  the  har- 
pooneer's  head.  One  glance  up  was  enough  to 
show  him  that  certain  death  was  descending.  In 
an  instant  he  dived  over  the  side  and  disappeared. 
Next  moment  the  flukes  came  down  on  the  part 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  45 

of  the  boat  he  had  just  left,  and  cut  it  clean  off ; 
the  other  part  was  driven  into  the  waves,  and  the 
men  were  left  swimming  in  the  water.  They  were 
all  picked  up,  however,  by  another  boat  that  was 
in  company,  and  the  harpooneer  was  recovered 
with  the  rest.  His  quick  dive  had  been  the 
saving  of  his  life. 

I  had  not  much  time  given  me  to  study  the 
appearance  of  this  whale  before  the  order  was 
given  to  "  hoist  away  !"  so  we  went  to  work 
■with  a  wiU,  The  first  part  that  came  up  was  the 
huge  lip,  fastened  to  a  large  iron  hook,  called  the 
blubber  hook.  It  was  lowered  into  the  blub- 
ber-room between  decks,  where  a  couple  of  men 
were  stationed  to  stow  the  blubber  away.  Then 
came  the  fins,  and  after  them  the  upper-jaw,  with 
the  whalebone  attached  to  it.  The  "  right"  whale 
has  no  teeth  like  the  sperm  whale.  In  place  of 
teeth  it  has  the  well-known  substance  called  whale- 
bone, which  grows  from  the  roof  of  its  mouth  in  a 
number  of  broad  thin  plates,  extending  from  the 
back  of  the  head  to  the  snout.  The  lower  edges 
of  these  plates  of  whalebone  are  split  into  thou- 
sands of  hairs  like  bristles,  so  that  the  inside  roof 
of  a  whale's  mouth  resembles  an  enormous  blacking 
brush  !  The  object  of  this  curious  arrangement 
is  to  enable  the  whale  to  catch  the  little  shrimps 
and  small  sea-blubbers,  called  "medusae,"  on  which 
it  feeds.     I  have  spoken  before  of  these  last  aa 

D 


46 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


being  the  little  creatures  that  gave  out  such  a  beau- 
tiful pale-blue  light  at  night.  The  whale  feeds 
on  them.  When  he  desires  a  meal  he  opens  his 
great  mouth  and  rushes  into  the  midst  of  a  shoal 
of  medusae ;  the  little  things  get  entangled  in 
thousands  among  the  hairy  ends  of  the  whale- 
bone, and  when  the  monster  has  got  a  large 
enough  mouthful,  he  shuts  his  lower  jaw  and 
swallows  what  his  net  has  caught. 

The  wisdom  as  well  as  the  necessity  of  this  ar- 
rangement is  very  plain.  Of  course,  while  dash- 
ing through  the  sea  in  this  fashion,  with  his  mouth 
agape,  the  whale  must  keep  his  throat  closed,  else 
the  water  would  rush  down  it  and  choke  him. 
Shutting  his  throat  then,  as  he  does,  the  water  is 
obliged  to  flow  out  of  his  mouth  as  fast  as  it  flows 
in  ;  it  is  also  spouted  up  through  his  blow-holes, 
and  this  with  such  violence  that  many  of  the 
little  creatures  would  be  swept  out  along  with  it 
but  for  the  hairy-ended  whalebone  which  lets  the 
sea-water  out,  but  keeps  the  medusae  fti. 

Well,  let  us  return  to  our  "  cutting  in."  After 
the  upper-jaw  came  the  lower-jaw  and  throat, 
with  the  tongue.  This  last  was  an  enormous  mass 
of  fat,  about  as  large  as  an  ox,  and  it  weighed 
fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  pounds.  After 
this  was  got  in,  the  rest  of  the  work  was  simple. 
The  blubber  of  the  body  was  peeled  off  in  great 
strips,  beginning  at  the  neck  and  being  cut  spirally 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


47 


towards  the  tail.  It  was  hoisted  on  board  by  the 
blocks,  the  captain  and  mates  cutting,  and  the 
men  at  the  windlass  hoisting,  and  the  carcass 
slowly  turning  round  until  we  got  an  unbroken 
piece  of  blubber,  reaching  from  the  water  to  nearly 
as  high  as  the  mainyard-arm.  This  mass  was 
nearly  a  foot  thick,  and  it  looked  like  fat  pork. 
It  was  cut  off  close  to  the  deck,  and  lowered  into 
the  blubber-room,  where  the  two  men  stationed 
there  attacked  it  with  knives,  cut  it  into  smaller 
pieces,  and  stowed  it  away.  Then  another  piece  was 
hoisted  on  board  in  the  same  fashion,  and  so  on 
we  went  till  every  bit  of  blubber  was  cut  off  ;  and 
I  heard  the  captain  remark  to  the  mate  when  the 
work  was  done,  that  the  fish  was  a  good  fat  one, 
and  he  wouldn't  wonder  if  it  turned  out  to  be 
worth  £300. 

Now,  when  this  process  was  going  on,  a  new 
point  of  interest  arose  which  I  had  not  thought 
of  before,  although  my  messmate,  Tom  Lokins, 
had  often  spoken  of  it  on  the  voyage  out.  This 
was  the  arrival  of  great  numbers  of  sea-birds. 

Tom  had  often  told  me  of  the  birds  that 
always  keep  company  with  whalers  ;  but  I  had 
forgotten  all  about  it  untU  I  saw  an  enormous 
albatross  come  sailing  majestically  through  the 
air  towards  us.  This  was  the  largest  bird  I  ever 
saw,  and  no  wonder,  for  it  is  the  largest  bird  that 
flies.     Soon  after  that,  another  arrived,  and  al- 


I 


48  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

though  we  were  more  than  a  thousand  miles  from 
any  shore,  we  were  speedily  scented  out  and  sur- 
rounded by  hosts  of  gonies,  stinkards,  haglets, 
gulls,  pigeons,  petrels,  and  other  sea-birds,  which 
commenced  to  feed  on  pieces  of  the  whale's  car- 
cass with  the  most  savage  gluttony.  These  birds 
were  dreadfully  greedy.  They  had  stuffed  them- 
selves so  full  in  the  course  of  a  short  time,  that 
they  flew  heavily  and  with  great  difficulty.  No 
doubt  they  would  have  to  take  three  or  four  days 
to  digest  that  meal ! 

Sharks,  too,  came  to  get  their  share  of  what 
was  going.  But  these  savage  monsters  did  not 
content  themselves  with  what  was  thrown  away  ; 
they  were  so  bold  as  to  come  before  our  faces  and 
take  bites  out  of  the  whale's  body.  Some  of 
these  sharks  were  eight  and  nine  feet  long,  and 
when  I  saw  them  open  their  horrid  jaws,  armed 
with  three  rows  of  glistening  white  sharp  teeth,  I 
could  well  understand  how  easily  they  could  bite 
off"  the  leg  of  a  man,  as  they  often  do  when  they 
get  the  chance.  Sometimes  they  would  come 
right  up  on  the  whale's  body  with  a  wave,  bite 
out  great  pieces  of  the  flesh,  turn  over  on  their 
bellies,  and  roll  off'. 

While  I  was  looking  over  the  side  during  the 
early  part  of  that  day,  I  saw  a  very  large  shark 
come  rolling  up  in  this  way  close  to  Tom  Lokins' 
legs.     Tom  made  a  cut  at  him  with  his  blubber- 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  49 

spade,  but  the  shark  rolled  off  in  time  to  escape 
the  blow.  And  after  all  it  would  not  have  done 
him  much  damage,  for  it  is  not  easy  to  frighten 
or  take  the  life  out  of  a  shark. 

«  Hand  me  an  iron  and  line.  Bob,"  said  Tom, 
looking  up  at  me.  "  I've  got  a  spite  agin  that 
feller.  He's  been  up  twice  already.  Ah !  hand 
it  down  here,  and  two  or  three  of  ye  stand  by  to 
hold  on  by  the  line.  There  he  comes,  the  big 
villain  !" 

The  shark  came  close  to  the  side  of  the  whale 
at  that  moment,  and  Tom  sent  the  harpoon  right 
down  his  throat. 

"  Hold  on  hard,"  shouted  Tom. 

"Ay,  ay,"  replied  several  of  the  men  as  they 
held  on  to  the  line,  their  arms  jerking  violently 
as  the  savage  fish  tried  to  free  itself.  We  quickly 
reeved  a  line  through  a  block  at  the  fore  yard-arm, 
and  hauled  it  on  deck  with  much  difficulty.  The 
scene  that  followed  was  very  horrible,  for  there 
was  no  killing  the  brute.*  It  threshed  the  deck 
with  its  tail,  and  snapped  so  fiercely  with  its 
tremendous  jaws,  that  we  had  to  keep  a  sharp 
look  out  lest  it  should  catch  hold  of  a  leg.  At 
last  its  tail  was  cut  off,  the  body  cut  open,  and  all 
the  entrails  taken  out,  yet  even  after  this  it  con- 
tinued to  flap  and  thresh  about  the  deck  for  some 
time,  and  the  heart  continued  to  contract  for 
*  See  frontispiece. 


50  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

twenty  minutes  after  it  was  taken  out  and  pierced 
with  a  knife. 

I  would  not  have  believed  this  had  1  not  seen 
it  with  my  own  eyes.  In  case  some  of  ray 
readers  may  doubt  its  truth,  I  would  remind  them 
how  difficult  it  is  to  kill  some  of  those  creatures 
with  which  we  are  all  familiar.  The  common 
worn",  for  instance,  may  be  cut  into  a  number  of 
small  pieces,  and  yet  each  piece  remains  alive  for 
some  time  after. 

The  skin  of  the  shark  is  valued  by  the  whale- 
men, because,  when  cleaned  and  dry,  t  is  as  good 
as  sand-paper,  and  is  much  used  in  polishing-  the 
vari  ous  things  they  make  out  of  whales'  bones  and 
tee'  h. 

When  the  last  piece  of  blubber  had  been  cut 
ofi'  our  whale,  the  great  chain  that  held  it  to  the 
ship's  side  was  cast  off,  and  the  now  useless 
carcass  sank  like  a  stone,  much  to  the  sorrow  of 
sonie  of  the  smaller  birds,  which,  having  been 
driven  away  by  their  bigger  comrades,  had  not  fed 
80  heartily  as  they  wished  perhaps  !  But  what 
was  loss  to  the  gulls  was  gain  to  the  sharks, 
which  could  follow  the  carcass  down  into  the  deep 
and  devour  it  at  their  leisure. 

"  Now,  lads,"  cried  the  mate,  when  the  remains 
had  vanished,  "  rouse  up  the  fires,  look  alive,  my 
hearties  ! " 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  51 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  was  the  ready  reply,  cheerfully 
given,  as  every  man  sprang  to  his  appointed 
duty. 

And  so,  having  "  cut  in "  our  whale,  we  next 
proceeded  to  "try  out"  the  oil 


52  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  STORM,  A  MAN  OVERBOARD,  AND  A  EESCDB. 

THE  scenes  in  a  whaleman's  life  are  raried  and 
very  stirring.  Sometimes  he  is  floating  on  the 
calm  ocean,  idling  about  the  deck  and  whistling 
for  a  breeze,  when  all  of  a  sudden  the  loud  cry  is 
heard,  "  There  she  blows ! "  and  in  a  moment  the 
boats  are  in  the  water,  and  he  is  engaged  in  all 
the  toils  of  an  exciting  chase.  Then  comes  the 
battle  with  the  great  leviathan  of  the  deep,  with 
all  its  risks  and  dangers.  Sometimes  he  is  im- 
fortunate,  the  decks  are  clean,  he  has  nothing  to 
do.  At  other  times  he  is  lucky,  "cutting  in" 
and  "trying  out"  engage  all  his  energies  and 
attention.  Frequently  storms  toss  him  on  the 
angry  deep,  and  show  him,  if  he  will  but  learn 
the  lesson,  how  helpless  a  creature  he  is,  and  how 
thoroughly  dependent  at  all  times  for  life,  safety, 
and  success,  upon  the  arm  of  God. 

"  Trying  out"  the  oil,  although  not  so  thrilling 
a  scene  as  many  a  one  in  his  career,  is,  neverthe- 
less,  extremely  iiitertaitaiig,   especially   at    night. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  53 

when  the  glare  of  the  fires  in  the  try-works  casts 
a  deep  red  glow  on  the  faces  of  the  men,  on  the 
masts  and  sails,  and  even  out  upon  the  sea. 

The  try-works  consisted  of  two  huge  melting- 
pots  fixed  upon  brick-work  fireplaces  between  the 
fore  and  main  masts.  While  some  of  the  men 
were  down  in  the  blubber-room  cutting  the 
"  blanket-pieces,"  as  the  largest  masses  are  called, 
othera  were  pitching  the  smaller  pieces  on  deck, 
where  they  were  seized  by  two  men  who  stood  near 
a  block  of  wood,  called  *'  a  horse,"  with  a  mincing 
knife,  to  slash  the  junks  so  as  to  make  them  melt 
easily.  These  were  then  thrown  into  the  melting- 
pots  by  one  of  the  mates,  who  kept  feeding  the 
fires  with  such  "  scraps"  of  blubber  as  remain 
after  the  oil  is  taken  out.  Once  the  fires  were 
fairly  set  agoing  no  other  kind  of  fuel  was  re- 
quired than  "  scraps"  of  blubber.  As  the  boiling 
oil  rose  it  was  baled  into  copper  cooling-tanks. 
It  was  the  duty  of  two  other  men  to  dip  it  out  of 
these  tanks  into  casks,  which  were  then  headed 
up  by  our  cooper,  and  stowed  away  in  the  hold. 

As  the  night  advanced  the  fires  became  redder 
and  brighter  by  contrast,  the  light  shone  and  glit- 
tered on  the  bloody  decks,  and,  as  we  plied  our 
dirty  work,  I  could  not  help  thinking,  "  what 
would  my  mother  say,  if  she  could  get  a  peep  at 
me  now  V 

The  ship's  crew  worked  and  slept  by  watches, 


54  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

for  the  fires  were  not  allowed  to  go  out  all  night. 
About  midnight  T  sat  down  on  the  windlass  to 
take  a  short  rest,  and  began  talking  to  one  of  the 
men,  Fred  Borders  by  name.  He  was  one  of  the 
quietest  and  most  active  men  in  the  ship,  and, 
being  quite  a  young  man,  not  more  than  nine- 
teen, he  and  I  drew  to  one  another,  and  became 
very  intimate. 

"  I  think  we're  goiu'  to  have  a  breeze.  Bob," 
said  he,  as  a  sharp  puff  of  wind  crossed  the  deck, 
driving  the  black  smoke  to  leeward,  and  making 
the  fire  flare  up  in  the  try-works. 

"  I  hope  it  won't  be  a  storm,  then,"  said  I, 
"  for  it  will  oblige  us  to  put  out  the  fires." 

Just  then  Tom  Lokins  came  up,  ordered  Fred 
to  go  and  attend  to  the  fires,  sat  down  opposite 
to  me  on  the  windlass,  and  began  to  "  lay  down 
the  law"  in  regard  to  storms. 

"  You  see.  Bob  Ledbury,"  said  he,  beginning 
to  fill  his  pipe,  "  young  fellers  like  you  don't 
know  nothin'  about  the  weather — 'cause  why  1 
you've  got  no  experience.  Now,  I'll  put  you  up 
to  a  dodge  consarning  this  very  thing." 

I  never  found  out  what  was  the  dodge  that 
Tom,  in  his  wisdom,  was  to  have  put  me  up  to, 
for  at  that  moment  the  captain  came  on  deck,  and 
gave  orders  to  furl  the  top-gallant  sails. 

Three  or  four  of  us  ran  up  the  rigging  like 
monkeys,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  sails  were 
lashed  to  the  yards. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


55 


The  wind  now  began  to  blow  steadily  from  the 
nor' -west ;  but  not  so  hard  aa  to  stop  our  tiy- 
works  for  more  than  an  hour.  After  that  it 
blew  stiff  enough  to  raise  a  heavy  sea,  and  we 
were  compelled  to  slack  the  fires.  This  was  all 
the  barm  it  did  to  us,  however,  for  although  the 
breeze  was  stitfish,  it  was  nothing  like  a  gale. 

As  the  captain  and  the  first  mate  walked  the 
quarter-deck  together,  I  heard  the  former  say  to 
the  latter,  "  I  think  we  had  as  well  take  in  a  reef 
in  the  topsails.  All  hereabouts  the  fishing-ground 
is  good,  we  don't  need  to  carry  on." 

The  order  was  given  to  reduce  sail,  and  the 
men  lay  out  on  the  topsail  yards.  I  noticed  that 
my  friend  Fred  Borders  was  the  first  man  to 
spring  up  the  shrouds  and  lay  out  on  the  main- 
top-saU  yard.  It  was  so  dark  that  I  could 
scarcely  see  the  masts.  AVhile  I  was  gazing  up, 
I  thought  I  observed  a  dark  object  drop  from  the 
yard  ;  at  the  same  moment  there  was  a  loud 
shriek,  followed  by  a  plunge  in  the  sea.  This 
was  succeeded  by  the  sudden  cry,  "man  over- 
board !"  and  instantly  the  whole  ship  was  in  an 
uproar. 

No  one  who  has  not  heard  that  cry  can  under- 
stand the  dreadful  feelings  that  are  raised  in  the 
human  breast  by  it.  My  heart  at  first  seemed  to 
leap  into  my  mouth,  and  almost  choke  me.  Then 
a  terrible   fear,   which  I  cannot  describe,   shot 


56  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

through  me,  when  I  thought  it  might  be  my  com- 
rade Fred  Borders.  But  these  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings passed  like  lightning — in  a  far  shorter  time 
than  it  takes  to  write  them  down.  The  shriek 
was  still  ringing  in  my  ears,  when  the  captain 
roared — 

"  Down  your  helm  !  stand  by  to  lower  away 
the  boats." 

At  the  same  moment  he  seized  a  light  hen-coop 
and  tossed  it  overboard,  and  the  mate  did  the  same 
with  an  oar  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  Almost 
without  knowing  what  I  did,  or  why  I  did  it,  I 
seized  a  great  mass  of  oakum  and  rubbish  that 
lay  on  the  deck  saturated  with  oil,  I  thrust  it  into 
the  embers  of  the  fire  in  the  try-works,  and  hurled 
it  blazing  into  the  sea. 

The  ship's  head  was  thrown  into  the  wind,  and 
we  were  brought  to  as  quickly  as  possible.  A 
gleam  of  hope  arose  within  me  on  observing  that 
the  mass  I  had  thrown  overboard  continued  still 
to  burn;  but  when  I  saw  how  quickly  it  went 
astern,  notwithstanding  our  vigorous  efforts  to  stop 
the  ship,  my  heart  began  to  sink,  and  when,  a  few 
moments  after,  the  light  suddenly  disappeared, 
despair  seized  upon  me,  and  I  gave  my  friend  up 
for  lost. 

At  that  moment,  strange  to  say,  thoughts  of 
my  mother  came  into  my  mind,  I  remembered  her 
words,  "  Call  upon  the  Lord,  my  dear  boy,  when 


A  Dive  for  Life. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  57 

you  are  in  trouble."  Although  I  had  given  but 
little  heed  to  prayer,  or  to  my  Maker,  up  to  that 
time,  I  did  pray,  then  and  there,  most  earnestly 
that  my  messmate  might  be  saved.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  had  much  hope  that  my  prayer  would  be 
answered — indeed  I  think  I  had  none, — still  the 
mere  act  of  crying  in  my  distress  to  the  Almighty 
afforded  me  a  little  relief,  and  it  was  with  a  good 
deal  of  energy  that  I  threw  myself  into  the  first 
boat  that  was  lowered,  and  pulled  at  the  oar  as  if 
my  own  life  depended  on  it. 

A  lantern  had  been  fastened  to  the  end  of  an 
oar  and  set  up  in  the  boat,  and  by  its  faint  light 
I  could  see  that  the  men  looked  very  grave.  Tom 
Lokins  was  steering,  and  I  sat  near  him,  pulling 
the  aft  oar. 

"  Do  you  think  we've  any  chance,  Tom  ]" 
said  I. 

A  shake  of  the  head  was  his  only  reply. 

"  It  must  have  been  here  away,"  said  the  mate, 
who  stood  up  in  the  bow  with  a  coil  of  rope  at 
his  feet,  and  a  boat-hook  in  his  hand.  "  Hold 
on,  lads,  did  any  one  hear  a  cry  ?" 

No  one  answered.  We  all  ceased  pulling,  and 
listened  intently  ;  but  the  noise  of  the  waves  and 
the  whistling  of  the  winds  were  all  the  sounds  we 
heard. 

"  What's  that  floating  on  the  water  1"  said  one 
of  the  men,  suddenly. 


58  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

"  Where  away  ?"  cried  every  one  eagerly. 

"  Right  off  the  lee-bow — there,  don't  you  see 
it?" 

At  that  moment  a  faint  cry  came  floating  over 
the  black  water,  and  died  away  in  the  breeze. 

The  single  word  "  Hurrah  ! "  burst  from  our 
throats  with  all  the  power  of  our  lungs,  and  we 
bent  to  our  oars  till  we  wellnigh  tore  the  rollicks 
out  of  the  boat. 

"  Hold  hard  !  stem  all !"  roared  the  mate,  as 
we  went  flying  down  to  leeward,  and  almost 
ran  over  the  hen-coop,  to  which  a  human  form 
was  seen  to  be  clinging  with  the  tenacity  of  a 
drowning  man.  We  had  swept  down  so  quickly, 
that  we  shot  past  it.  In  an  agony  of  fear  lest 
my  friend  should  be  again  lost  in  the  darkness,  I 
leaped  up  and  sprang  into  the  sea.  Tom  Lokins, 
however,  had  noticed  what  I  was  about ;  he  seized 
me  by  the  collar  of  my  jacket  just  as  I  reached 
the  water,  and  held  me  with  a  grip  like  a  vice  till 
one  of  the  men  came  to  his  assistance,  and  dragged 
me  back  into  the  boat.  In  a  few  moments  more 
we  reached  the  hen-coop,  and  Fred  was  saved  ! 

He  was  half  dead  with  cold  and  exhaustion, 
poor  fellow,  but  in  a  few  minutes  he  began  to 
recover,  and  before  we  reached  the  ship  he  could 
speak.  His  first  words  were  to  thank  God  for 
his  deliverance.     Then  he  added — 

"  And,  thanks  to  the  man  that  flung  that  light 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  59 

overboard,  I  should  have  gone  down  but  for  that. 
It  showed  me  where  the  hen-coop  was." 

I  cannot  describe  the  feeling  of  joy  that  filled 
my  heart  when  he  said  this. 

"  Ay,  who  wos  it  that  throw'd  that  fire  over- 
board V  inquired  one  of  the  men. 

"  Don't  know,"  replied  another,  "  I  think  it 
wos  the  cap'n." 

"  You'll  find  that  out  when  we  get  aboard," 
cried  the  mate  ;   "  pull  away,  lads." 

In  five  minutes  Fred  Borders  was  passed  up 
the  side  and  taken  down  below.  In  two  minutes 
more  we  had  him  stripped  naked,  rubbed  dry, 
wrapped  in  hot  blankets,  and  set  down  on  one  of 
the  lockers,  with  a  hot  brick  at  his  feet,  and  a  still 
can  of  hot  rum  and  water  in  bis  hand. 


60  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  WHALE — FIGHTING  BULLS,  ETC. 

AS  the  reader  may,  perhaps,  have  been  asking  s 
few  questions  about  the  whale  in  his  own 
mind,  I  shall  try  to  answer  them,  by  telling  a  few 
things  concerning  that  creature  which,  I  think,  are 
worth  knowing. 

In  the  first  place,  the  whale  is  not  a  fish  !  I 
have  applied  that  name  to  it,  no  doubt,  because 
it  is  the  custom  to  do  so  ;  but  there  are  great 
differences  between  the  whales  and  the  fishes.  The 
mere  fact  that  the  whale  lives  in  water  is  not 
suflJcient  to  prove  it  to  be  a  fish.  The  frog  lives 
very  much  in  water — he  is  born  in  the  water,  and, 
when  very  young,  he  lives  in  it  altogether — would 
die,  in  fact,  if  he  were  taken  out  of  it ;  yet  a  frog 
is  not  a  fish. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  difierences  exist- 
ing between  a  whale  and  a  fish  : — ^The  whale  is  a 
warm-blooded  animal  ;  the  fish  is  cold-blooded. 
The  whale  brings  forth  its  young  ahve  ;  while 
most  fishes  lay  eggs  or  spawn.     Moreover,  the 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  61 

fish  lives  entirely  under  water,  but  the  whale 
cannot  do  so.  He  breathes  air  through  enormous 
lungs,  not  giUs.  If  you  were  to  hold  a  whale's 
head  under  water  for  much  longer  than  an  hour, 
it  would  certainly  be  drowned ;  and  this  is  the 
reason  why  it  comes  so  frequently  to  the  surface 
of  the  sea  to  take  breath.  Whales  seldom  stay 
more  than  an  hour  under  water,  and  when  they 
come  up  to  breathe,  they  discharge  the  last  breath 
they  took  through  their  nostrils  or  blow-holes, 
mixed  with  large  quantities  of  water  which  they 
have  taken  in  while  feeding.  But  the  most  re- 
markable point  of  diflference  between  the  whale  and 
fishes  of  all  kinds  is,  that  it  suckles  its  young. 

The  calf  of  one  kind  of  whale  is  about  fourteen 
feet  long  when  it  is  bom,  and  it  weighs  about  a  ton. 
The  cow-whale  usually  brings  forth  only  one  calf 
at  a  time,  and  the  manner  in  which  she  behaves  to 
her  gigantic  baby  shows  that  she  is  affected  by 
feelings  of  anxiety  and  affection  such  as  are  never 
seen  in  fishes,  which  heartless  creatures  forsake 
their  eggs  when  they  are  laid,  and  I  am  pretty 
sure  they  would  not  know  their  own  children  if 
they  happened  to  meet  with  them. 

The  whale,  on  the  contrary,  takes  care  of  her 
little  one,  gives  it  suck,  and  sports  playfully  with 
it  in  the  waves  ;  its  enormous  heart  throbbing  all 
the  while,  no  doubt,  with  satisfaction. 

I  have  heard  of  a  whale  which  was  once  driven 

E 


62 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


into  shoal  water  with  its  calf  and  nearly  stranded. 
The  huge  dam  seemed  to  become  anxious  for  the 
safety  of  her  child,  for  she  was  seen  to  swim 
eagerly  round  it,  embrace  it  with  her  fins,  and 
roll  it  over  in  the  waves,  trying  to  make  it  follow 
her  into  deep  water.  But  the  calf  was  obstinate  ; 
it  would  not  go,  and  the  result  was  that  the  boat 
of  a  whaler  puUed  up  and  harpooned  it.  The 
poor  little  whale  darted  away  like  lightning  on 
receiving  the  terrible  iron,  and  ran  out  a  hundred 
fathoms  of  line  ;  but  it  was  soon  overhauled  and 
killed.  AU  this  time  the  dam  kept  close  to  the 
side  of  its  calf,  and  not  until  a  harpoon  was 
plunged  into  her  own  side  would  she  move  away. 
Two  boats  were  after  her.  With  a  single  rap 
of  her  tail  she  cut  one  of  the  boats  in  two,  and 
then  darted  off.  But  in  a  short  time  she  turned 
and  came  back.  Her  feelings  of  anxiety  had 
returned,  no  doubt,  after  the  first  sting  of  pain 
was  over,  and  she  died  at  last  close  to  the  side  of 
her  young  one. 

There  are  various  kinds  of  whales,  but  the 
two  sorts  that  are  most  sought  after  are  the 
common  whale  of  the  Greenland  Seas,  which  is 
called  the  "  right  whale,"  and  the  sperm  whale  of 
the  South  Sea.  Both  kinds  are  found  in  the 
south  ;  but  the  sperm  whale  never  goes  to  the 
North  Seas.  Both  kinds  gi'ow  to  an  enormous 
size — sometimes  to  seventy  feet  in  length,  but 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  63 

there  is  considerable  difference  in  their  appear- 
ance, especially  about  the  head.  In  a  former 
chapter  I  have  partly  described  the  head  of  a 
right  whale,  which  has  whalebone  instead  of  teeth, 
with  its  blow-holes  on  the  back  of  the  head.  The 
sperm  whale  has  large  white  teeth  in  its  lower 
jaw  and  none  at  all  in  the  upper.  It  has  only 
one  blow-hole,  and  that  a  little  one,  much  farther 
forward  on  its  head,  so  that  sailors  can  tell,  at  a 
great  distance,  what  kind  of  whales  they  see 
simply  by  their  manner  of  spouting. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  about  the  sperm 
whale  is  the  bluntness  of  its  clumsy  head,  which 
looks  somewhat  like  a  big  log  with  the  end  sawn 
square  off,  and  this  head  is  about  one-third  of  its 
entire  body. 

The  sperm  whale  feeds  differently  from  the 
right  whale.  He  seizes  his  prey  with  his  powerful 
teeth,  and  lives,  to  a  great  extent,  on  large  cuttle 
fish.  Some  of  them  have  been  seen  to  vomit 
lumps  of  these  cuttle-fish  as  long  as  a  whale-boat. 
He  is  much  fiercer,  too,  than  the  right  whale, 
which  almost  always  takes  to  flight  when  struck, 
but  the  sperm  whale  will  sometimes  turn  on  its 
foes  and  smash  their  boat  with  a  blow  of  his  blunt 
head  or  tail. 

Fighting-whales,  as  they  are  called,  are  not 
uncommon.  These  are  generally  old  bulls,  which 
have  become  wise  from  experience,  and  give  the 


64 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


whalers  great  trouble — sometimes  carrying  away 
several  harpoons  and  lines.  The  lower  jaw  of 
one  old  bull  of  this  kind  was  found  to  be  sixteen 
feet  long,  and  it  had  forty-eight  teeth,  some  of 
them  a  foot  long.  A  number  of  scars  about  his 
head  showed  that  this  fellow  had  been  in  the 
wars.  When  two  bull-whales  take  to  fighting, 
their  great  effort  is  to  catch  each  other  by  the 
lower  jaw,  and,  when  locked  together,  they  struggle 
with  a  degree  of  fury  that  cannot  be  described. 

It  is  not  often  that  the  sperm  whale  actually 
attacks  a  ship  ;  but  there  are  a  few  cases  of  this 
kind  which  cannot  be  doubted.  The  following 
story  is  certainly  true  ;  and  while  it  shows  how 
powerful  a  creature  the  whale  is,  it  also  shows 
what  terrible  risk  and  sufferings  the  whaleman 
has  frequently  to  encounter. 

In  the  month  of  August  1819,  the  American 
whaleship  "  Essex"  sailed  from  Nantucket  for  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  She  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Pollard.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year, 
when  in  latitude  40°  of  the  South  Pacific,  a  shoal, 
or  "  school,"  of  sperm  whales  were  discovered, 
and  three  boats  were  immediately  lowered  and 
sent  in  pursuit.  The  mate's  boat  was  struck  by 
one  of  the  fish  during  the  chase,  and  it  was  found 
necessary  to  return  to  the  ship  to  repair  damages. 

While  the  men  were  employed  at  this,  an 
enormous  whale  suddenly  rose  quite  close  to  the 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  65 

ship.  He  was  going  at  nearly  the  same  rate 
with  the  ship — about  three  miles  an  hour  ;  and 
the  men,  who  were  good  judges  of  the  size  of 
whales,  thought  that  it  could  not  have  been  less 
than  eighty-five  feet  long.  All  at  once  he  ran 
against  the  ship,  striking  her  bows,  and  causing 
her  to  tremble  like  a  leaf.  The  whale  imme- 
diately dived  and  passed  under  the  ship,  and 
grazed  her  keel  in  doing  so.  This  evidently  hurt 
his  back,  for  he  suddenly  rose  to  the  surface  about 
fifty  yards  ofi",  and  commenced  lashing  the  sea 
with  his  tail  and  fins  as  if  suff'ering  great  agony. 
It  was  truly  an  awful  sight  to  behold  that  great 
monster  lashing  the  sea  into  foam  at  so  short  a 
distance. 

In  a  short  time  he  seemed  to  recover,  and 
started  off  at  great  speed  to  windward.  Mean- 
while the  men  discovered  that  the  blow  received 
by  the  ship  had  done  her  so  much  damage,  that 
she  began  to  fill  and  settle  down  at  the  bows  ;  so 
they  rigged  the  pumps  as  quickly  as  possible. 
While  working  them  one  of  the  men  cried  out — 
"  God  have  mercy  !  he  comes  again  !" 
This  was  too  true.  The  whale  had  turned, 
and  was  now  bearing  down  on  them  at  full  speed, 
leaving  a  white  track  of  foam  behind  him.  Rush- 
ing at  the  ship  like  a  battering-ram,  he  hit  her 
fair  on  the  weather  bow  and  stove  it  in,  after 
which  he  dived  and  disappeared.     The  horrified 


6G  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

men  took  to  their  boats  at  once,  and  in  ten 
minutes  the  ship  went  down. 

The  condition  of  the  men  thus  left  in  three 
open  boats  far  out  upon  the  sea,  without  provi- 
sions or  shelter,  was  terrible  indeed.  Some  of 
them  perished,  and  the  rest,  after  suffering  the 
severest  hardships,  reached  a  low  island  called 
Ducies  on  the  20th  of  December.  It  was  a  mere 
sand-bank,  which  supplied  them  only  with  water 
and  sea-fowl.  Still  even  this  was  a  mercy,  for 
which  they  had  reason  to  thank  God ;  for  in 
cases  of  this  kind  one  of  the  evils  that  sea- 
men have  most  cause  to  dread  is  the  want  of 
water. 

Three  of  the  men  resolved  to  remain  on  this 
sand-bank,  for,  dreary  and  uninhabited  though  it 
was,  they  preferred  to  take  their  chance  of  being 
picked  up  by  a  passing  ship  rather  than  run  the 
risks  of  crossing  the  wide  ocean  in  open  boats, 
so  their  companions  bade  them  a  sorrowful  fare- 
well, and  left  them.  But  this  island  is  far  out 
of  the  usual  track  of  ships.  The  poor  fellows 
have  never  since  been  heard  of 

It  was  the  27th  of  December  when  the  three 
boats  left  the  sand-bank  with  the  remainder  of 
the  men,  and  began  a  voyage  of  two  thousand 
miles,  towards  the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez.  The 
mate's  boat  was  picked  up,  about  three  months 
after,  by  the  ship  "  Indian"  of  London,  with  only 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  67 

three  living  men  in  it.  About  the  same  time  the 
captain's  boat  was  discovered,  by  the  "Dauphin"  of 
Nantucket,  with  only  two  men  living  ;  and  these 
unhappy  beings  had  only  sustained  life  by  feeding 
on  the  flesh  of  their  dead  comrades.  The  third 
boat  must  have  been  lost,  for  it  was  never  heard 
of ;  and  out  of  the  whole  crew  of  twenty  men, 
only  five  returned  home  to  tell  their  eventful 
story. 

Before  resuming  the  thread  of  my  narrative,  I 
must  not  omit  to  mention,  that  in  the  head  of  the 
sperm  whale  there  is  a  large  cavity  or  hole  called 
the  "  case,"  which  contains  pure  oil  that  does 
not  require  to  be  melted,  but  can  be  baUed  at 
once  into  casks  and  stowed  away.  This  is  the 
valuable  spermaceti  from  which  the  finest  candles 
are  made.  One  whale  will  sometimes  yield  fif- 
teen barrels  of  spermaceti  oil  from  the  "  case"  of 
its  head.  A  large  fish  will  produce  from  eighty  to 
a  hundred  barrels  of  oil  altogether,  sometimes 
much  more  ;  and  when  whalemen  converse  with 
each  other  about  the  size  of  whales,  they  speak  of 
"  eighty-barrel  fish,"  and  so  on. 

Although  I  have  written  much  about  the  fight- 
ing powers  of  the  sperm  whale,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  whales  are  by  nature  fond  of  fight- 
ing. On  the  contrary,  the  "  right"  whale  is  a  timid 
creature,  and  never  shows  fight  except  in  defence 
of  its  young.     And  the  sperm  whale  generally 


68  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

takes  to  flight  when  pursued.  In  fact,  most  of 
the  accidents  that  happen  to  whalemen  occur  when 
the  wounded  monster  is  lashing  the  water  in  blind 
terror  and  agony. 

The  whale  has  three  bitter  enemies,  much 
smaller,  but  much  bolder  than  himself,  and  of 
these  he  is  terribly  afraid.  They  are — the  sword- 
fish,  the  thrasher,  and  the  killer.  The  first  of 
these,  the  sword-fish,  has  a  strong  straight  horn 
or  sword  projecting  from  his  snout,  with  which 
he  boldly  attacks  and  pierces  the  whale.  The 
thrasher  is  a  strong  fish,  twenty  feet  long,  and  of 
great  weight.  Its  method  of  attack  is  to  leap 
out  of  the  water  on  the  whale's  back,  and  deal  it 
a  tremendous  blow  with  its  powerful  tail. 

The  sword-fish  and  thrasher  sometimes  act 
together  in  the  attack  ;  the  first  stabbing  him 
below,  and  the  second  belabouring  him  above, 
while  the  whale,  unable,  or  too  frightened  to 
fight,  rushes  through  the  water,  and  even  leaps 
its  whole  gigantic  length  into  the  air  in  its  endea- 
vours to  escape.  When  a  whale  thus  leaps  his 
whole  length  out  of  the  water,  the  sailors  say 
he  "  breaches,"  and  breaching  is  a  common  prac- 
tice. They  seem  to  do  it  often  for  amusement  as 
well  as  from  terror. 

But  the  most  deadly  of  the  three  enemies  is 
the  killer.  This  is  itself  a  kind  of  small  whale, 
but  it  is  wonderfully  strong,  swift,    and    bold. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  ^9 

When  one  of  the  killers  gets  into  the  middle  of  a 
school  of  whales,  the  frightened  creatures  are  seen 
flying  in  all  directions.  His  mode  of  attack  is  to 
seize  his  big  enemy  by  the  jaw,  and  hold  on  until 
he  is  exhausted  and  dies. 


70  FIOHTING  THE  WHALES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TOM's  wisdom ANOTHER  GREAT  BATTLE. 

ONE  day  I  was  standing  beside  the  windlass, 
listening  to  the  conversation  of  five  or  six  of 
the  men,  who  were  bu.sy  sharpening  harpoons  and 
cutting-knives,  or  making  all  kinds  of  toys  and 
things  out  of  whales'  bones.  We  had  just  finished 
cutting  in  and  trying  out  our  third  whale,  and  as 
it  was  not  long  since  we  reached  the  fishing- 
ground,  we  were  in  high  hopes  of  making  a  good 
thing  of  it  that  season  ;  so  that  every  one  was  in 
good  spirits,  from  the  captain  down  to  the  young- 
est man  in  the  ship. 

Tom  Lokins  was  smoking  his  pipe,  and  Tom's 
pipe  was  an  uncommonly  black  one,  for  he  smoked 
it  very  often.  Moreover,  Tom's  pipe  was  uncom- 
monly short,  so  short  that  I  always  wondered  how 
he  escaped  burning  the  end  of  his  nose.  Indeed, 
some  of  the  men  said  that  the  redness  of  the  end 
of  Tom's  nose  was  owing  to  its  being  baked  like 
a  brick  by  the  heat  of  his  pipe.  Tom  took  this 
pipe  from  his  mouth,  and  while  he  was  pushing 


riGUTING  THE  WHALES.  71 

down  the  tobacco  with  the  end  of  his  little  finger, 
he  said — 

"  D'ye  know,  lads,  I've  been  thinkin — " 

•'  No,  have  ye  ?"  cried  one  of  the  men  inter- 
rupting him  with  a  look  of  pretended  surprise. 
"  Well  now,  I  do  think,  messmates,  that  we 
should  ax  the  mate  to  make  a  note  o'  that  in 
the  log,  for  it's  not  often  that  Tom  Lokins  takes 
to  thinkin'." 

There  was  a  laugh  at  this,  but  Tom,  turning 
with  a  look  of  contempt  to  the  man  who  inter- 
rupted him,  replied — 

"  I'll  tell  you  wot  it  is.  Bill  Blunt,  if  all  the 
thoughts  that  you  think,  and  especially  the  jokes 
that  you  utter,  wos  put  down  in  the  log,  they'd  be 
so  heavy  that  I  do  believe  they  would  sink  the  ship  !" 

"  Well,  well,"  cried  Bill,  joining  in  the  laugh 
against  himself,  "  if  they  did,  your  jokes  would 
be  so  light  and  triflia'  that  I  do  believe  theyM 
float  her  again.  But  what  have  you  been  a-think- 
in'  of,  Tom  1" 

"I've  been  thinkin',"  said  Tom,  slowly,  "that 
if  a  whale  makes  his  breakfast  entirely  off  them 
little  things  that  you  can  hardly  see  when  you 
get  'em  into  a  tumbler — I  forget  how  the  captain 
calls  'em — wot  a  tvee-viendous  heap  of  'em  he 
must  eat  in  the  course  of  a  year  !" 

"  Thousands  of  'em,  I  suppose,"  said  one  of 
the  men. 


72  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

"  Thousands  !"  cried  Tom,  "  I  should  rather 
say  billions  of  them." 

"  How  much  is  billions,  mate  1"  inquired  Bill. 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  Tom.  "  Never 
could  find  out.  You  see  it's  heaps  upon  heaps  of 
thousands,  for  the  thousands  come  first  and  the 
billions  afterwards  ;  but  when  I've  thought  un- 
common hard,  for  a  long  spell  at  a  time,  I  always 
get  confused,  because  millions  comes  in  between, 
d'ye  see,  and  that's, puzzlin'." 

"  I  think  I  could  give  you  some  notion  about 
these  things,"  said  Fred  Borders,  who  had  been 
quietly  listening  all  the  time,  but  never  putting 
in  a  word,  for,  as  I  have  said,  Fred  was  a  modest 
bashful  man  and  seldom  spoke  much.  But  we 
had  all  come  to  notice  that  when  Fred  spoke,  he 
had  always  something  to  say  worth  hearing  ;  and 
when  he  did  speak  he  spoke  out  boldly  enough. 
We  had  come  to  have  feelings  of  respect  for  our 
young  shipmate,  for  he  was  a  kind-hearted  lad,  and 
we  saw  by  his  conversation  that  he  had  been  better 
educated  than  the  most  of  us,  so  all  our  tongues 
stopped  as  the  eyes  of  the  party  turned  on  him. 

"  Come,  Fred,  let's  hear  it  then,"  said  Tom. 

"  It's  not  much  I  have  to  tell,"  began  Fred, 
"  but  it  may  help  to  make  your  minds  clearer  on 
this  subject.  On  my  first  voyage  to  the  whale 
fishery  (you  know,  lads,  this  is  my  second  voyage) 
I  went  to  the  Greenland  seas.     We  had  a  young 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  73 

doctor  aboard  with  us — quite  a  youth  ;  indeed 
he  had  not  finished  his  studies  at  college,  but  he 
was  cleverer,  for  all  that,  than  many  an  older  man 
that  had  gone  through  his  whole  course.  I  do 
believe  that  the  reason  of  his  being  so  clever  was, 
that  he  was  for  ever  observing  things,  and  study- 
ing them,  and  making  notes,  and  trying  to  find  out 
reasons.  He  was  never  satisfied  with  knowing  a 
thing  ;  he  must  always  find  out  why  it  was.  One 
day  I  heard  him  ask  the  captain  what  it  was  that 
made  the  sea  so  green  in  some  parts  of  those  seas. 
Our  captain  was  an  awfully  stupid  man.  So  long 
as  he  got  plenty  oil  he  didn't  care  two  straws  for 
the  reason  of  anything.  The  young  doctor  had 
been  bothering  him  that  morning  with  a  good 
many  questions,  so  when  he  asked  him  what  made 
the  sea  green,  he  answered  sharply,  "  I  suppose  it 
makes  itself  green,  young  man,"  and  then  he 
turned  from  him  with  a  fling. 

"  The  doctor  laughed,  and  came  forward  among 
the  men,  and  began  to  tell  us  stories  and  ask 
questions.  Ah  !  he  was  a  real  hearty  fellow  ; 
he  would  tell  you  all  kinds  of  queer  things,  and 
would  pump  you  dry  of  all  you,  knew  iu  no 
time.  Well,  but  the  thing  I  was  going  to  teU  you 
was  this.  One  of  the  men  said  to  him  he  had 
heard  that  the  greenness  of  the  Greenland  sea 
was  caused  by  the  little  things  like  small  bits  of 
jelly  on  which  the  whales  feed.     As  soon  as  he 


74  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

heard  this  he  got  a  bucket  and  hauled  some  sea 
water  aboard,  and  for  the  next  ten  days  he  was 
never  done  working  away  with  the  sea-water  ; 
pouring  it  into  tumblers  and  glasses  ;  looking 
through  it  by  daylight  and  by  lamplight ;  tasting 
it,  and  boiling  it,  and  examining  it  with  a  micro- 
scope." 

"  What's  a  microscope  ?"  inquired  one  of  the 
men. 

"  Don't  you  know  ?"  said  Tom  Lokins,  "  why, 
it's  a  glass  that  makes  little  things  seem  big,  when 
ye  look  through  it.  I've  heerd  say  that  beasts 
that  are  so  uncommon  small  that  you  can't  see 
them  at  all  are  made  to  come  into  sight  and  look 
quite  big  by  means  o'  this  glass.  But  I  can't  my- 
self say  that  it's  true." 

"  But  I  can,"  said  Fred,  "for  I  have  seen  it 
with  my  own  eyes.  Well,  after  a  good  while,  I 
made  bold  to  ask  the  young  doctor  what  he  had 
found  out. 

"I've  found,"  said  he,  "that  the  greenness  of 
these  seas  is  in  truth  caused  by  uncountable  num- 
bers of  medusae — " 

"  Ha  !  that's  the  word,"  shouted  Tom  Lokins, 
"  Medoosy,  that's  wot  the  captain  calls  'em. 
Heave  ahead,  Fred." 

"  Well,  then,"  continued  Fred,  "  the  young 
doctor  went  on  to  tell  me  that  he  had  been  count- 
ing the  matter  to  himself  very  carefully,  and  he 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  75 

f  jund  that  in  every  square  mile  of  sea-water  there 
were  living  about  eleven  quadrillions  nine  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine  trillions  of  these  little  crea- 
tures !" 

"  Oh  !  hallo  !  come  now  !"  we  all  cried,  open- 
ing our  eyes  very  wide  indeed. 

'<  But,  I  say,  how  much  is  that  f  inquired 
Tom  Lokins. 

"  Ah  !  that's  just  what  I  said  to  the  young 
doctor,  and  he  said  to  me,  *  I'll  tell  you  what, 
Fred  Borders,  no  man  alive  understands  how 
much  that  is,  and  what's  more,  no  man  ever  will ; 
but  I'll  give  you  some  notion  of  what  it  means  ;' 
and  so  he  told  me  how  long  it  would  take  forty 
thousand  men  to  count  that  number  of  eleven 
quadrillions  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  tril- 
lions, each  man  of  the  forty  thousand  beginning 
'  one,'  '  two,'  '  three,'  and  going  on  till  the  sum  of 
the  whole  added  together  would  make  it  up.  Now, 
how  long  d'ye  think  it  would  take  them  1 — guess." 

Fred  Borders  smiled  as  he  said  this,  and  looked 
round  the  circle  of  men. 

"  I  know,"  cried  one,  "  it  would  take  the 
whole  forty  thousand  a  u'eek  to  do  it." 

"  Oh  !  nonsense,  they  could  do  it  easy  in  two 
days,"  said  another. 

"  That  shows  how  little  you  know  about  big 
numbers,"  observed  Tom  Lokins,  knockiug  the 
ashes   out   of  his   pipe.     "  I'm   pretty   sure   it 


76  FIGHTING  THE  WHAMS. 

couldn't  be  done  in  much  less  than  six  months  ; 
workin'  hard  all  day,  and  makin'  allowance  for 
only  one  hour  off  for  dinner." 

"  You're  all  wrong,  shipmates,"  said  Fred 
Borders.  "  That  young  doctor  told  me  that  if 
they'd  begun  work  at  the  day  of  creation  they 
would  only  have  just  finished  the  job  last  year  !" 

"  0  gammon  !  you're  jokin',  "  cried  Bill  Blunt. 

"  No,  I'm  not,  said  Fred,  for  I  was  told  after- 
wards by  an  old  clergyman  that  the  young  doctor 
was  quite  right,  and  that  any  one  who  was  good 
at  'rithmetic  could  work  the  thing  out  for  him- 
self in  less  than  half-an-hour." 

Just  as  Fred  said  this  there  came  a  loud  cry 
from  the  mast-head  that  made  us  all  spring  to  our 
feet  like  lightning. 

*'  There  she  blows  !     There  she  breaches  !" 

The  captain  was  on  deck  in  a  moment, 

"  Where  away  ]"  he  cried. 

"  On  the  lee  beam,  sir.  Sperm  whale,  about 
two  miles  ofi".     There  she  blows  !" 

Every  man  was  at  his  station  in  a  moment ;  for, 
after  being  some  months  out,  we  became  so  used 
to  the  work,  that  we  acted  together  like  a  piece 
of  machinery.  But  our  excitement  never  abated 
in  the  least. 

"  Sing  out  when  the  ship  heads  for  her." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  Keep   her  away  !"  said  the  captain  to  the 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  77 

man  at  the  helm.  "  Bob  Ledbury,  hand  me  the 
spy-glass." 

"  Steady,"   from  the  mast  head. 

"  Steady  it  is,"  answered  the  man  at  the  helm. 

While  we  were  all  looking  eagerly  out  ahead  we 
heard  a  thundering  snore  behind  us,  followed  by  a 
heavy  splash.  Turning  quickly  round,  we  saw  the 
flukes  of  an  enormous  whale  sweeping  through  the 
air  not  more  than  six  hundred  yards  astern  of  us. 

"  Down  your  helm,"  roared  the  captain ; 
"  haul  up  the  mainsail,  and  square  the  yards. 
Call  all  hands." 

"  All  hands,  ahoy  ! "  roared  Bill  Blunt  in  a 
voice  of  thunder,  and  in  another  moment  every 
man  in  the  ship  was  on  deck. 

"  Hoist  and  swing  the  boats,"  cried  the  captain. 
"  Lower  away." 

Down  went  the  boats  into  the  water  ;  the  men 
were  into  their  places  almost  before  you  could 
wink,  and  we  pulled  away  from  the  ship  just  as 
the  whale  rose  the  second  time,  about  half  a  mile 
away  to  leeward. 

From  the  appearance  of  this  whale  we  felt  cer- 
tain that  it  was  one  of  the  largest  we  had  yet 
seen,  so  we  pulled  after  it  with  right  good  will. 
I  occupied  my  usual  place  in  the  captain's  boat, 
next  the  bow  oar,  just  beside  Tom  Lokins,  who 
was  ready  with  his  harpoons  in  the  bow.  Young 
Borders  pulled  the  oar  directly  in  front  of  me. 


78  '  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

The  captain  himself  steered,  and,  as  our  crew  was 
a  picked  one,  we  soon  left  the  other  two  boats 
behind  us. 

Presently  a  small  whale  rose  close  beside  us, 
and,  sending  a  shower  of  spray  over  the  boat, 
went  down  in  a  pool  of  foam.  Before  we  had 
time  to  speak,  another  whale  rose  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  boat,  and  then  another  on  our  star- 
board bow.  We  had  got  into  the  middle  of  a 
shoal  of  whales,  which  commenced  leaping  and 
spouting  all  round  us,  little  aware  of  the  dangerous 
enemy  that  was  so  near. 

In  a  few  minutes  more  up  comes  the  big  one 
again  that  we  had  first  seen.  He  seemed  very 
active  and  wild.  After  blowing  on  the  surface 
once  or  twice,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off,  he 
peaked  his  flukes,  and  pitched  down  head  fore- 
most. 

"  Now,  then,  lads,  he's  down  for  a  long  dive," 
said  the  captain  ;  "  spring  your  oars  like  men, 
we'll  get  that  fish  for  certain,  if  you'll  only 
pull" 

The  captain  was  naistaken ;  the  whale  had 
only  gone  down  deep  in  order  to  come  up  and 
breach,  or  spring  out  of  the  water,  for  the  next 
minute  he  came  up  not  a  hundred  yards  from  us, 
and  leaped  his  whole  length  into  the  air. 

A  shout  of  surprise  broke  from  the  men,  and 
no  wonder,  for  this  was  the  largest  fish  I  ever  saw 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  79 

or  heard  of,  and  he  came  up  so  clear  of  the  water 
that  we  could  see  him  from  head  to  tail  as  he 
turned  over,  in  the  air,  exposing  his  white  belly  to 
view,  and  came  down  on  his  great  si<le  witk  a  crash 
like  thunder,  that  might  have  been  heard  six  miles 
off.  A  splendid  mass  of  pure  white  spray  burst 
from  the  spot  where  he  fell,  and  in  another  moment 
he  was  gone. 

"  I  do  believe  it's  New  Zealand  Tom,''  cried 
Bill  Blunt,  referring  to  an  old  bidl  whale  that  had 
become  famous  among  the  men  who  frequented 
these  seas  for  its  immense  size  and  fierceness,  and 
for  the  great  trouble  it  had  given  them,  smashing 
some  of  their  boats,  and  carrying  away  many  of 
their  harpoons. 

"  I  don't  know  wliether  it's  New  Zealand  Tom 
or  not,"  said  the  captain,  "  but  it 's  pretty  clear 
that  he's  an  old  sperm  bull.  Give  way,  lads,  we 
must  get  that  whale  whatever  it  should  cost  us." 

We  did  not  need  a  second  bidding  ;  the  size  of 
the  fish  was  so  great  that  we  felt  more  excited 
than  we  had  yet  been  during  the  voyage,  so  we 
bent  our  oars  till  we  almost  pulled  the  boat  out 
of  the  water.  The  other  boats  had  got  separated, 
chasing  the  little  whales,  so  we  had  this  one  all 
to  ourselves. 

"  There  she  blows  ! "  said  Tom  Lokins  in  a  low 
voice,  as  the  fish  came  up  a  short  distance  astern 
of  us. 


80  FIGHTING  I  HE  WHALES. 

We  had  overshot  our  mark,  so,  turning  about, 
we  made  for  the  whale,  which  kej^t  for  a  consi- 
derable time  near  the  top  of  the  water,  spouting 
now  and  then,  and  going  slowly  to  windward. 
We  at  last  got  within  a  few  feet  of  the  monster, 
and  the  captain  suddenly  gave  the  word,  "  Stand 
up." 

This  was  to  our  harpooneer,  Tom  Lokins,  who 
jumped  up  on  the  instant,  and  buried  two  har- 
poons deep  in  the  blubber. 

"  Stern  all  !"  was  the  next  word,  and  we 
backed  off  with  all  our  might.  It  was  just  in 
time,  for,  in  his  agony,  the  whale  tossed  his  tail 
right  over  our  heads,  the  flukes  were  so  big  that 
they  could  have  completely  covered  the  boat,  and 
he  brought  them  down  flat  on  the  sea  with  a  clap 
that  made  our  ears  tingle,  while  a  shower  of  spray 
drenched  us  to  the  skin.  For  one  moment  I 
thought  it  was  all  over  with  us,  but  we  were  soon 
out  of  immediate  danger,  and  lay  on  our  oars 
watching  the  writhings  of  the  wounded  monster 
as  he  lashed  the  ocean  into  foam.  The  water  all 
round  us  soon  became  white  like  milk,  and  the 
foam  near  the  whale  was  red  with  blood. 

Suddenly  this  ceased,  and,  before  we  could  pull 
up  to  lance  him,  he  went  down,  taking  the  line 
out  at  such  a  rate  that  the  boat  spun  round,  and 
sparks  of  fire  flew  from  the  loggerhead  from  the 
chafing  of  the  rojje. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  81 

*'  Hold  on  !"  cried  the  captain,  and  next  mo- 
ment we  were  tearing  over  the  sea  at  a  fearful 
rate,  with  a  bank  of  white  foam  rolling  before  us, 
high  above  our  bows,  and  away  on  each  side  of 
us  like  the  track  of  a  steamer,  so  that  we  expected 
it  every  moment  to  rush  in-board  and  swamp  us. 
I  had  never  seen  anything  like  this  before.  From 
tlie  first  I  had  a  kind  of  feeling  that  some  evil 
would  befall  us. 

While  we  were  tearing  over  the  water  in  this 
way,  we  saw  the  other  whales  coming  np  every 
now  and  then  and  blowing  quite  near  to  us,  and 
presently  we  passed  close  enough  to  the  first 
mate's  boat  to  see  that  he  was  fast  to  a  fish,  and 
unable,  therefore,  to  render  us  help  if  we  should 
need  it. 

In  a  short  time  the  line  began  to  slack,  so  we 
hauled  it  in  hand  over  hand,  and  Tom  Lokins 
coiled  it  away  in  the  tub  in  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
while  the  captain  took  his  place  in  the  bow  to  be 
ready  with  the  lance.  The  whale  soon  came  up, 
and  we  pulled  with  all  our  might  toM-ards  him. 
Instead  of  making  off"  again,  however,  he  turned 
round  and  made  straiglit  at  tlie  boat.  I  now 
thought  that  destruction  was  certain,  for,  when  I 
saw  his  great  blunt  forehead  coming  down  on  us 
like  a  steamboat,  I  felt  that  we  could  not  escape. 
I  was  mistaken.  The  captain  received  him  on  tlie 
point  of  his  lance,  and  the  whale  lias  such  a  dLs- 


82 


riGHTIXG  TilE  WHALES. 


like  to  pain,  that  even  a  small  prick  will  some- 
times turn  liim. 

For  some  time  we  kept  dod^ng  round  this  fel- 
low ;  but  lie  was  so  old  and  wise,  that  he  always 
turned  his  head  to  us,  and  prevented  us  from  get- 
ting a  chance  to  lance  him.  At  last  he  turned  a 
little  to  one  side,  and  the  eaptam  plunged  the 
lance  deep  into  his  vitals. 

"  Ha!  that's  touched  his  life,"  cried  Tom,  as 
a  stream  of  blood  flew  up  from  his  blow-holes,  a 
sure  sign  that  he  was  mortally  wounded.  But  he 
was  not  yet  conquered.  After  receiving  the  cruel 
stab  with  the  lance,  he  pitched  right  down,  head 
foremost,  and  once  more  the  line  began  to  fly  out 
over  the  bow.  We  tried  to  hold  on,  but  he  was 
going  so  straight  down  that  the  boat  was  almost 
swamped,  and  we  had  to  slack  off  to  prevent  our 
being  pulled  under  water. 

Before  many  yards  of  the  line  had  run  out,  one 
of  the  coils  in  the  tub  became  entangled. 

"  Look  out,  lads,"  cried  Tom,  and  at  once  throw- 
ing the  turn  off"  the  logger-head,  he  made  an  at- 
tempt to  clear  it.  The  captain,  in  trying  to  do  the 
same  thing,  slipped  and  fell.  Seeing  this,  I  sprang 
up,  and,  grasping  the  coil  as  it  flew  past,  tried  to 
clear  it.  Before  I  could  think,  a  turn  whipped 
round  my  left  wrist.  I  felt  a  wrench  as  if  my 
arm  had  been  torn  out  of  the  socket,  and  in  a 
moment  I  was  overboard,  going  down  with  almost 


i 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  83 

lightuing  speed  into  the  depths  of  the  sea.  Strange 
to  say,  I  did  not  h")se  my  presence  of  mind.  I 
knew  exactly  what  had  happened.  I  felt  myself 
rushing  down,  down,  down,  with  terrific  speed  ; 
a  stream  of  fire  seemed  to  be  whizzing  past  my 
eyes  ;  there  was  a  dreadful  pressure  on  my  brain, 
and  a  roaring  as  if  of  thunder  in  my  ears.  Yet, 
even  in  that  dread  moment,  thoughts  of  eternity, 
of  my  sins,  and  of  meeting  with  my  God,  flashed 
into  my  mind,  for  thought  is  quicker  than  the 
lightning  flash. 

Of  a  sudden  the  roaring  ceased,  and  I  felt  my- 
self buffetting  the  water  fiercely  in  my  eSbrts  to 
reach  the  surface.  I  know  not  how  I  got  free, 
but  I  suppose  the  turn  of  the  line  must  have 
slackened  oft"  somehow.  All  this  happened  within 
the  space  of  a  few  brief  moments  ;  but,  oh  !  they 
seemed  fearfully  long  to  me.  I  do  not  think  I 
could  have  held  my  breath  a  second  longer. 

When  I  came  to  the  surface,  and  tried  to  look 
about  me,  I  saw  the  boat  not  more  than  fifty  yards 
off,  and,  being  a  good  swimmer,  I  struck  out  for  it, 
although  I  felt  terribly  exhausted.  In  a  few 
minutes  my  comrades  saw  me,  and,  with  a  cheer, 
put  out  the  oars  and  began  to  row  towards  me. 
I  saw  that  the  line  was  slack,  and  that  they  were 
hauling  it  in — a  sign  that  the  whale  had  ceased 
running  and  would  soon  come  to  the  surface  again. 
Before  they  had  pulled  half-a-dozen  strokes  I  saw 


84  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

the  water  open  close  beside  the  boat,  and  the 
monstrous  head  of  the  whale  shot  up  like  a  great 
rock  rising  out  of  the  deep. 

He  was  not  more  than  three  feet  from  the  boat, 
and  he  came  up  with  such  force,  that  more  than 
half  his  gigantic  length  came  out  of  the  water 
right  over  the  boat.  I  heard  the  captain's  loud 
cry — "  Stern  all!  "  But  it  was  too  late,  the  whole 
weight  of  the  monster's  body  fell  upon  the  boat  ; 
there  was  a  crash  and  a  terrible  cry,  as  the  whale 
and  boat  went  down  together. 

For  a  few  moments  he  continued  to  lash  the 
sea  in  his  fury,  and  the  fragments  of  the  boat 
floated  all  round  him.  I  thought  that  every  man, 
of  course,  had  been  killed  ;  but  one  after  another 
their  heads  appeared  in  the  midst  of  blood  and 
foam,  and  they  struck  out  for  oars  and  pieces  of 
the  wreck. 

Providentially,  the  whale,  in  his  tossings,  had 
shot  a  little  away  from  the  spot,  else  every  man 
must  certainly  have  been  killed. 

A  feeling  of  horror  filled  my  heart,  as  T  beheld 
all  this,  and  thought  upon  my  position.  Fortun- 
ately, I  had  succeeded  in  reaching  a  broken 
plank  ;  for  my  strength  was  now  so  much  ex- 
hausted, that  I  could  not  have  kept  my  head 
above  water  any  longer  without  its  assistance. 
Just  then  I  heard  a  cheer,  and  the  next  time  I 
rose  on  the  swell,  I  looked  quickly  round  and  saw 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  85 

the  mate's  boat  making  for  the  scene  of  action  as 
fast  as  a  stout  and  willing  crew  could  pull.  In  a 
few  minutes  more  I  was  clutched  by  the  arm  and 
hauled  into  it.  My  comrades  were  next  rescued, 
and  we  thanked  God  when  we  found  that  none 
were  killed,  although  one  of  them  had  got  a  leg 
broken,  and  another  an  arm  twisted  out  of  joint. 
They  all,  however,  seemed  to  think  that  my  escape 
was  much  more  wonderful  than  theirs  ;  but  I 
canrot  say  that  I  agreed  with  them  in  this. 

We  now  turned  our  attention  to  the  whale, 
which  had  dived  again.  As  it  was  now  loose,  we 
did  not  know,  of  course,  where  it  would  come  up  : 
so  we  lay  still  awhile.  Very  soon  up  he  came, 
not  far  from  us,  and  as  fierce  as  ever. 

"  Now,  lads,  we  must  get  that  whale,"  cried 
the  mate  ;  "  give  way  with  a  will." 

The  order  was  obeyed.  The  boat  almost  leaped 
over  the  swell,  and,  before  long,  another  harpoon 
was  in  the  whale's  back. 

"  Fast  again,  hurrah  ! "  shouted  the  mate, 
"  now  for  the  lance." 

He  gave  the  monster  two  deep  stabs  while  he 
spoke,  and  it  vomited  up  great  clots  of  blood, 
besides  spouting  the  red  stream  of  life  as  it  rolled 
on  the  sea  in  its  agony,  obliging  us  to  keep  well 
out  of  its  way. 

I  could  not  look  upon  the  dying  struggles  of 
this  enormous  fish  without  feelings  of  regret  and 


86 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


self-reproach  for  helping  to  destroy  it.  I  felt 
almost  as  if  I  were  a  murderer,  and  that  the 
Creator  would  call  me  to  account  for  taking  part 
in  the  destruction  of  one  of  his  grandest  living 
creatures.  But  the  thought  passed  quickly  from 
my  mind  as  the  whale  became  more  violent  and 
went  into  its  flurry.  It  began  to  lash  the  sea  with 
such  astonishing  violence,  that  all  the  previous 
struggles  seemed  as  nothing.  The  water  all  round 
became  white  like  milk,  with  great  streaks  of  red 
blood  running  through  it,  and  the  sound  of  the 
quick  blows  of  its  tail  and  fins  resembled  that  of 
dull  hollow  thunder.  We  gazed  at  this  scene  in 
deep  silence  and  with  beating  hearts. 

All  at  once  the  struggles  ceased.  The  great 
carcass  rolled  over  belly  up,  and  lay  extended  on 
the  sea  in  death.  To  me  it  seemed  as  if  a  dead 
calm  had  suddenly  fallen  around  us,  after  a  long 
and  furious  storm,  so  great  was  the  change  when 
that  whale  at  length  parted  with  its  huge  life. 
The  silence  was  suddenly  broken  by  three  hearty 
cheers,  and  then,  fastening  a  rope  to  our  prize, 
we  commenced  towing  it  to  the  ship,  which  opera- 
tion occupied  us  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  for 
we  had  no  fewer  than  eight  miles  to  pull. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  87 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

DEATH  ON  THE  SEA. 

THE  whale  which  we  had  taken,  as  I  have  re- 
lated in  the  last  chapter,  was  our  largest  fish 
of  that  season.  It  produced  ninety  barrels  of  oil, 
and  was  worth  about  £500,  so  that  we  did  not 
grieve  much  over  the  loss  of  our  boat. 

But  our  next  loss  was  of  a  kind  that  could  not 
be  made  up  for  by  oil  or  money,  for  it  was  the 
loss  of  a  human  life.  In  the  whale-fishery  men 
must,  like  soldiers,  expect  to  risk  their  lives  fre- 
quently, and  they  have  too  often,  alas  !  to  mourn 
over  the  loss  of  a  shipmate  or  friend.  Up  to  this 
time  our  voyage  had  gone  prosperously.  We  had 
caught  so  many  fish  that  nearly  half  our  cargo 
was  already  completed,  and  if  we  should  be  as 
lucky  the  remainder  of  the  voyage,  we  should  be 
able  to  return  home  to  Old  England  much  sooner 
than  we  had  expected. 

Of  course,  during  all  this  time  we  had  met  with 
some  disappointments,  for  I  am  not  describing 
everything  that    happened  on   that  voyage.     It 


88  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

would  require  a  much  thicker  volume  than  this  to 
tell  the  half  of  our  adventures.  We  lost  five  or 
six  fish  by  their  sinking  before  we  could  get  them 
made  fast  to  the  ship,  and  one  or  two  bolted  so 
fast  that  they  broke  loose  and  carried  away  a 
number  of  harpoons  and  many  a  fathom  of  line. 
But  such  misfortunes  were  what  we  had  to  look 
for.  Every  whaler  meets  with  similar  changes  of 
luck,  and  we  did  not  expect  to  fare  difi'erently 
from  our  neighbours.  These  things  did  not  cause 
us  much  regret  beyond  the  time  of  their  occur- 
rence. But  it  was  far  otherwise  with  the  loss 
that  now  befell  us. 

It  happened  on  a  Sunday  forenoon.  I  was 
standing  close  to  the  starboard  gangway  early  that 
morning,  looking  over  the  side  into  the  calm 
water,  for  there  was  not  a  breath  of  wind,  and 
talking  to  the  first  mate,  who  was  a  gruff",  surly 
man,  but  a  good  officer,  and  kind  enough  in  his  way 
when  everything  went  smooth  with  him.  But 
things  don't  go  very  smooth  generally  in  whaling 
life,  so  the  mate  was  oftener  gruff  than  sweet. 

"  Bob  Ledbury,"  said  he,  "  have  you  got  your 
cutting-in  gear  in  order  1  I've  got  a  notion  that 
we'll  'raise  the  oil'  this  day." 

"  All  right,  sir,"  said  I ;  "  you  might  shave 
yourself  with  the  blubber-spades.  That  was  a 
good  fish  we  got  last,  sir,  wasn't  if?" 

"  Pretty  good,  though  I've  seen  bigger." 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALKS.  89 

"  He  gave  us  a  deal  of  trouble,  too,"  said  I. 

"  Not  so  much  as  I've  seen  others  give,"  said 
he.  "  When  I  was  fishing  in  the  Greenland  seas 
we  made  fast  to  a  whale  that  cost  us  I  don't 
know  how  many  hundred  dollars."  (You  must 
know  the  first  mate  was  a  Yankee,  and  he 
reckoned  everything  in  dollars.) 

"  How  was  that,  sir  1 "  asked  I. 

Well,  it  was  something  in  this  fashion.  We 
were  floating  about  in  the  North  Atlantic  one 
calm,  hot  day,  just  something  like  this,  only  it  was 
the  afternoon,  not  the  morning.  We  were  doing 
nothing,  and  whistling  for  a  breeze,  when,  all  of 
a  sudden,  up  comes  five  or  six  whales  all  round 
the  ship,  as  if  they  had  spied  her  from  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  and  had  come  up  to  have  a  squint  at 
her.  Of  course  the  boats  were  manned  at  once, 
and  in  less  than  no  time  we  were  tearing  after 
them  like  all  alive.  But  them  whales  were  pretty 
wildish,  I  guess.  They  kept  us  puUin'  the  best 
part  of  five  hours  before  we  got  a  chance  at  them. 
My  boat  was  out  of  sight  of  the  ship  before  we 
made  fast  to  a  regular  snorer,  a  hundred-barreller 
at  the  least.  The  moment  he  felt  the  iron,  away 
he  went  like  the  shot  out  of  a  gun  ;  but  he  didn't 
keep  it  up  long,  for  soon  after  another  of  our 
boats  came  up  and  made  fast.  Well,  for  some 
two  or  three  hours  we  held  fast,  but  could  not 
haul  on  to  him  to  use  the  lance,  for  the  moment 


90 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


we  came  close  up  alongside  of  his  tail  he  peaked 
flukes  and  dived,  then  up  again,  and  away  as  fast 
as  ever.  It  was  about  noon  before  we  touched 
him  again  ;  but  by  that  time  two  more  harpoons 
were  made  fast,  and  two  other  boats  cast  tow- 
iines  aboard  of  us,  and  were  hauled  along.  That 
was  four  boats,  and  more  than  sixteen  hundred 
fathoms  of  line,  besides  four  harpoons  that  was 
fast  to  that  whale,  and  yet,  for  all  that,  he  went 
ahead  as  fast  as  we  could  have  rowed,  takin'  us 
along  with  him  quite  easy. 

A  breeze  having  sprung  up,  our  ship  over- 
hauled us  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  and 
towards  evening  we  sent  a  line  on  board,  to  see  if 
that  would  stop  the  big  fish,  and  the  topsails  were 
lowered,  so  as  to  throw  some  of  the  ship's  weight 
on  him,  but  the  irons  drew  out  with  the  strain. 
However,  we  determined  to  try  it  again.  Another 
line  was  sent  aboard  about  eight  o'clock,  and  the 
topsails  were  lowered,  but  the  line  snapped  imme- 
diately. Well,  we  held  on  to  that  whale  the  whole 
of  that  night,  and  at  four  o'clock  next  morning,  just 
thirty-six  hours  after  he  was  first  struck,  two  fast 
lines  were  taken  aboard  the  ship.  The  breeze  was 
fresh,  and  against  us,  so  the  top-gallant  sails  were 
taken  in,  the  courses  hauled  up,  and  the  topsails 
clewed  down,  yet,  I  assure  you,  that  whale  towed 
the  ship  dead  against  the  wind  for  an  hour  and  a 
half  at  the  rate  of  two  miles  an  hour,  and  aJl  the 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  91 

while  beating  the  water  with  his  fins  and  tail,  so 
that  the  sea  was  in  a  continual  foam.  We  did 
not  kill  that  fish  till  after  forty  hours  of  the 
hardest  work  I  ever  went  through. 

Some  of  my  shipmates  seemed  to  doubt  the 
truth  of  this  story  ;  but,  for  my  part,  I  believed 
it,  because  the  mate  was  a  grave,  truthful  man, 
though  he  was  gruft',  and  never  told  lies,  as  far  as 
I  knew.  Moreover,  a  case  of  the  same  kind  hap- 
pened, some  years  afterwards,  to  a  messmate  of 
mine,  while  he  was  serving  aboard  the  "  Royal 
Bounty,"  on  the  28th  of  May  1817. 

I  know  that  some  of  the  stories  which  I  now 
tell  must  seem  very  wild  and  unlikely  to  lands- 
men ;  but  those  who  have  been  to  the  whale- 
fishery  will  admit  that  I  tell  nothing  but  the 
truth,  and  if  there  are  any  of  my  readers  who  are 
still  doubtful,  I  would  say,  go  and  read  the  works 
of  Captain  Scoresby.  It  is  well  known  that  this 
whaling  captain  was  a  truly  religious  man,  who 
gave  up  the  fishing,  though  it  turned  him  in  plenty 
of  money,  and  became  a  minister  of  the  gospel  with 
a  small  income,  so  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would 
have  told  what  was  untrue.  Well,  in  his  works 
we  find  stories  that  are  quite  as  remarkable  as  the 
one  I  have  just  told,  some  of  them  more  so. 

For  instance,  he  tells  us  of  one  whale,  in  the 
Greenland  seas,  which  was  not  killed  till  it  had 
drawn  out  ton  thousand  four  hundred  and  forty 


92  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

yards,  or  about  six  miles  of  line,  fastened  to  fifteen 
harpoons,  besides  taking  one  of  the  boats  entirely 
under  water,  which  boat  was  never  seen  again. 

The  mate  told  us  two  or  three  more  stories,  and 
a  lot  of  us  were  gathered  round  him  listening 
eagerly,  for  there  is  nothing  Jack  likes  so  much 
as  a  good  yarn,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  man 
at  the  mast-head  sang  out  that  a  large  sperm 
whale  was  spouting  away  two  points  off  the  lee- 
bow.  Of  course  we  were  at  our  posts  in  a  mo- 
ment, for  whalers,  generally,  don't  let  the  Lord's- 
day  interfere  with  their  work. 

Now  it  happened  that  this  was  the  first  time 
we  had  chanced  to  see  whales  on  a  Sunday. 
Up  to  that  time  it  had  never  entered  into  my 
head  to  think  of  objecting  to  do  work  on  that 
day.  It  was  the  custom  to  obey  orders,  whatever 
these  should  be,  on  every  day  of  the  week  alike, 
so  I  went  like  tlie  rest  to  my  usual  station,  with- 
out a  thought  upon  the  subject.  To  the  surprise  of 
every  one,  Fred  Borders,  instead  of  going  to  his 
post,  went  up  to  the  captain,  with  a  very  red  face, 
and,  touching  his  cap,  said — 

"  Please,  sir,  it  is  the  Sabbath  day.  I — I — 
would  rather  not  go  after  the  whales  to-day,  sir." 
Those  of  us  who  were  within  hearing  opened 
our  eyes  in  amazement,  and  some  of  the  men 
laughed  right  out ;  but  the  captain  looked  sternly 
round,  and  ordered  silence. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  93 

Now,  although  the  captain  was  a  kind  man, 
and  all  through  the  voyage  had  let  us  do  as  little 
work  as  possible  on  Sunday,  still  he  was  not  a 
religious  man.  In  fact,  he  did  not  pretend  to 
believe  in  the  Bible  at  all ;  so  when  one  of  his 
crew  went  up  to  him  in  this  way,  and  boldly  ob- 
jected to  work,  he  flew  into  a  violent  passion. 

"  And,  pray,  may  I  ask  why  you  would  rather 
not  go  after  whales  to-day  ? "  said  he,  trying  to 
keep  down  his  anger. 

"  Because,  sir,  God's  word  forbids  working  at 
our  ordinary  calling  on  His  day,"  answered  Fred, 
quietly. 

I  knew  poor  Fred's  spirit  well,  and  I  could  see 
from  the  expression  of  his  face,  and  the  heaving 
of  his  breast,  how  deeply  he  felt  the  sneers  of  his 
shipmates,  and  the  contempt  of  his  captain. 

"  Did  you  not  know,  when  you  shipped  with 
me,  that  you  would  have  to  work  on  Sunday 
as  well  as  on  any  other  day?"  demanded  the 
captain. 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  did  ;  but  I  did  not  think  so  seri- 
ously as  I  now  do.  My  life  has  been  saved,  as 
you  know,  but  a  short  time  ago,  and  God  has 
opened  my  eyes  to  see  that,  as  He  is  my  Maker, 
and  is  constantly  doing  me  good,  and  watching 
over  me,  the  least  that  I  can  do  for  Him  is  to 
consider  His  wishes,  and  obey  His  orders." 

The  captain  was  a  little  softened  by  this  ;  but 

G 


94  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES, 

another  laugh  from  one  or  two  of  the  worst  of  our 
men  fired  him  up  again. 

"  Go,  sir,"  said  he,  sternly,  "  go  to  your  duty. 
It  will  be  time  enough  for  you  to  preach  when 
you  are  appointed  chaplain  to  this  ship.  Disobey 
my  orders,  if  you  dare  !" 

Young  Borders  hung  his  head,  and,  turning 
slowly  away,  went  to  his  usual  station,  where  the 
crew  of  the  boat  he  belonged  to  were  already 
standing. 

"  There  she  blows  !  there  she  breaches  !"  sung 
the  look-out. 

"  Lower  away  !"  roared  the  captain. 

The  boats  were  in  the  water,  and  the  men  on 
their  seats  in  a  moment ;  but  Fred  hesitated. 
He  knew  the  stern  laws  that  exist  for  the  punish- 
ment of  mutineers  ;  but  he  thought  of  the  far 
more  terrible  laws  that  exist  for  the  punishment 
of  sinners.  God  helped  him,  and  he  turned 
boldly  round,  and  said  respectfully — 

"  Sir,  I  cannot  go — ." 

Before  he  could  say  another  word,  the  captain, 
who  was  a  veiy  strong  man,  rushed  at  him,  seized 
him  by  the  neck,  and  hurled  him  over  the  side 
into  the  boat.  In  another  moment  we  were  away, 
and  Fred,  seeing  that  escape  was  now  impossible, 
took  his  oar  like  the  rest. 

Tliere  was  an  attempt  made  by  some  of  the 
men  to  laugh  at  the  poor  fellow,  but  it  was  quite 


figetin:?  the  whales.  95 

plain  that  the  most  of  them  regarded  their  young 
shipmate  with  greater  respect  than  ever.  As  for 
me,  I  felt  my  heart  drawn  out  to  him  more  than 
ever,  and  only  wished  that  I  had  the  pluck  to  side 
with  him  openly.  But  although  brave  enough 
for  fighting  men  and  whales  at  that  time,  I  had 
not  courage  to  fight  against  my  own  cowardly 
spirit.  However,  the  excitement  of  the  chase 
soon  turned  all  our  thoughts  away  from  what  had 
just  passed. 

The  whale  we  were  after  was  a  very  large 
one,  we  could  see  that,  for  after  two  hours'  hard 
pulling  we  got  near  enough  to  throw  a  harpoon, 
and  after  it  was  fixed  he  jumped  clean  out  of  the 
water.  Then  there  was  the  usual  battle.  It  was 
fierce  and  long  ;  so  long  that  I  began  to  fear 
we  would  have  t9  return  empty  handed  to  the  ship. 
We  put  ten  harpoons  into  him,  one  after  another, 
and  had  a  stiff  run  between  the  fixing  of  each. 

It  is  astonishing  the  difference  between  the 
fish.  One  will  give  you  no  trouble  at  all.  I 
have  often  seen  a  good  big  fellow  killed  in  half- 
an-hour.  Another  will  take  you  half  a  day,  and 
perhaps  you  may  lose  him  after  all.  The  whale 
we  were  now  after  at  last  took  to  showing  fight. 
He  made  two  or  three  runs  at  the  boat,  but  the 
mate,  who  was  in  command,  pricked  him  oft"  with 
the  lance  cleverly.  At  last  we  gave  him  a  severe 
wound,  and  immediately  he  dived. 


96  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

"  That  was  into  his  life,"  remarked  Tom  Lokins, 
as  we  sat  waiting  for  him  to  come  up  again. 
The  captain's  boat  was  close  to  ours,  about  ten 
yards  off.  We  had  not  to  wait  long.  The  sud- 
den stoppage  and  slacking  off  of  all  the  lines 
showed  that  the  whale  was  coming  up.  All  at 
once  I  saw  a  dark  object  rising  directly  under  the 
captain's  boat.  Before  I  could  make  out  what 
it  was,  almost  before  I  could  think,  the  boat  flew 
up  into  the  air,  as  if  a  powder  magazine  had  ex- 
ploded beneath  it.  The  whale  had  come  up,  and 
hit  it  with  his  head  right  on  the  keel,  so  that  it 
was  knocked  into  pieces,  and  the  men,  oars,  har- 
poons, lances,  and  tackle  shot  up  in  confusion  into 
the  air. 

Immediately  after  that  the  whale  went  into  his 
flurry,  but  we  paid  no  attention  to  him,  in  our 
anxiety  to  pick  up  our  companions.  They  all 
came  to  the  surface  quickly  enough,  but  while 
some  made  for  the  boats  vigorously,  others  swam 
slowly  and  with  pain,  showing  that  they  were 
hurt,  while  one  or  two  floated,  as  if  dead,  upon 
the  water. 

Most  of  the  men  had  escaped  with  only  a  few 
cuts  and  bruises,  but  one  poor  fellow  was  hauled 
out  of  the  water  with  a  leg  broken,  and  another 
was  so  badly  knocked  about  the  head  that  it 
was  a  long  time  before  he  was  again  fit  for  duty. 
The  worst  case,  however,  was  that  of  poor  Fred 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  97 

Borders.  He  had  a  leg  broken,  and  a  severe 
wound  in  the  side  from  a  harpoon  which  had  been 
forced  into  the  flesh  over  the  barbs,  so  that  we 
could  hardly  get  it  drawn  out.  We  laid  him  in 
the  stern  of  the  boat,  where  he  lay  for  some  time 
insensible  ;  but  in  a  short  time  he  revived,  and 
spoke  to  us  in  a  faint  voice.  His  first  words  were : — 

*'  I'm  dying,  messmates." 

"  Don't  say  that,  Fred,"  said  I,  while  my  heart 
sank  within  me.  "  Cheer  up,  my  boy,  you'll 
live  to  be  the  death  of  many  a  whale  yet.  See, 
put  your  lips  to  this  can — it  will  do  you  good." 

He  shook  his  head  gently,  being  too  weak  to 
reply. 

We  had  killed  a  big  fish  that  day,  and  we 
knew  that  when  he  was  "  tried  in"  we  should  have 
completed  our  cargo  ;  but  there  was  no  cheer 
given  when  the  monster  turned  over  on  his  side, 
and  the  pull  to  the  ship  that  evening  seemed  to 
us  the  longest  and  heaviest  we  ever  had,  for  our 
hearts  were  very  sad. 

Next  day  Fred  was  worse,  and  we  all  saw  that 
his  words  would  come  true, — he  was  dying.  I 
never  saw  a  man  so  cast  down  in  all  my  life  as 
our  captain  was  when  he  came  to  see  that  all 
hope  was  over.  He  was  completely  broken  down. 
He  walked  about  the  deck,  muttering  to  himself 
as  if  he  were  deranged,  and  I  overheard  him  once 
or  twice  in  the  cabin  groaning,  and  saying  to  him- 


98  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

self,  that  he  "  had  been  the  death  of  that  lad, 
body  and  soul." 

I  was  permitted  to  nurse  my  poor  messmate, 
and  I  spent  much  of  my  time  in  reading  the  Bible 
to  him,  at  his  own  request.  Many  and  many  a 
time  did  the  captain  come  down  to  see  him  and 
to  implore  his  forgiveness  ;  but  although  Fred 
said  that  he  did  forgive  him,  he  would  not  utter 
another  word.  The  captain  thought  this  must  be 
owing  to  weakness,  but  I  felt  sure  there  must  be 
some  other  reason. 

One  day  (for  he  lived  about  a  week  after  the 
accident) — one  day  I  said  to  him,  "  Fred,  why 
don't  you  speak  to  the  captain  when  he  comes  to 
see  you  1  I'm  sure  it  would  do  him  good,  and  he 
needs  comfort,  poor  man,  for  he's  desperately  down 
about  you,  and  blames  himself  more  than  you  think." 

"  I  know  it.  Bob,"  said  he,  in  a  faint  low  voice, 
"  but  I  can't  speak  to  him  somehow.  I  want  to 
speak  to  him  about  his  soul,  but  I  don't  know 
how  to  begin,  and  before  I  can  make  up  my  mind 
he's  away." 

Just  as  he  said  this  the  captain  came  below, 
and,  going  to  the  cot  where  Fred  lay,  took  his 
hand  in  his,  and  said  tenderly — 

"  How  do  you  feel  now,  my  dear  boy.  Are 
you  suffering  much  pain  1" 

"  Not  much,"  replied  Fred ;  then  he  stopped, 
and  looked  anxiously  in  the  captain's  face. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  99 

"  What  would  you  say,  my  boy  1  You  want 
to  speak  to  me,  I  think." 

Fred  smiled  languidly,  and  said  with  difl&culty, 
"  I'll  soon  be  away  captain — " 

He  could  not  go  on,  but  be  pointed  upwards 
with  his  finger. 

"  Ah  !  you  would  tell  me  that  the  Lord  gives 
you  comfort.     Is  that  what  you  would  say  T' 

"  He  does,"  cried  Fred  with  energy,  raising 
himself  a  little,  and  seizing  the  captain  by  the 
wrist. 

At  that  moment  a  sudden  paleness  overspread 
his  face,  and  he  sank  on  the  piUow  with  a  deep 
sigh.  I  thought  the  end  had  cume,  but  he  turned 
to  me  and  said  in  a  low  voice  :  "  Find  the  six- 
teenth chapter  of  the  Acts,  thirty-first  verse  ;  also 
find  Exodus,  twentieth  chapter,  eighth  verse.  Read 
both — read  both." 

I  turned  to  the  chapters  he  mentioned,  and  read 
as  follows,  while  Fred  gazed  earnestly  into  the 
captain's  face,  holding  his  wrist  firmly  with  one 
hand,  and  with  a  finger  of  the  other  pointing  to 
the  Bible.     The  two  verses  ran  thus  : — 

"  '  And  they  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy  house.' 

"  '  Remember  the  Sabbath-day,  to  keep  it  holy.' 

"  Will  you  'believe,'  will  you  '  remember,'  cap- 
tain 1"  said  tl  e  dying  man  more  earnestly. 

"  I  will,  I  will,"  replied  the  other,  while  big 


100 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


tears  rolled  over  his  rugged  cheeks,  and  fell  upon 
the  hand  that  grasped  his  wrist  so  firmly. 

Fred  smiled  faintly,  but  he  did  not  speak 
again.  He  seemed  to  have  received  just  strength 
to  make  this  one  effort  to  save  a  human  soul,  and 
then  he  died.  We  buried  our  shipmate  in  the 
usual  sailor  fashion.  We  wrapped  him  in  his 
hammock,  with  a  cannon-ball  at  his  feet  to  sink 
him.  The  captain  read  the  burial-service  at  the 
gangway,  and  then,  in  deep  silence,  we  committed 
his  corpse  to  the  deep. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  101 


CHAPTER    IX. 

KEEPING  THE  SABBATH. 

THE  death  of  poor  Fred  Borders  cast  a  gloom 
over  the  ship  for  many  days.  Every  one  had 
respected,  and  many  of  us  had  loved  the  lad,  so 
that  we  mourned  for  him  long  and  truly.  But  a 
sailor's  life  is  such  a  rough  one,  requiring  so 
much  energy  and  hearty  good-will  to  his  work, 
that  he  cannot  afford  to  allow  the  sorrows  of  his 
heart  to  sit  long  on  his  countenance.  In  a  day 
or  two  after  no  one  would  have  supposed  we  had 
lost  one  of  our  best  men.  Whales  appeared  in 
great  numbers  around  us.  The  old  cry  of  "  There 
she  blows  !"  rang  out  frequently  from  the  mast- 
head, and  the  answering  cry  from  the  captain, 
"  Where  away  ?"  was  followed  by  the  "  Stand  by 
to  lower  ! — lower  away."  Then  came  the  chase, 
with  all  its  dangers  and  excitement — the  driving 
of  the  harpoon,  the  sudden  rush  of  the  struck 
fish,  the  smoke  and  sparks  of  fire  from  the  logger- 
head, the  plunging   of  the  lance,   the  spouting 


102 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


blood,  the  "  flurry"  at  the  end,  and  the  wild 
cheer  as  we  beheld  our  prize  floating  calmly  on 
the  sea.  And  in  the  midst  of  such  work  we  for- 
got for  a  time  the  solemn  scene  we  had  so  recently 
witnessed.  But  our  hearts  were  not  so  light  as 
before,  and  although  we  did  not  show  it,  I  knew 
full  well  that  many  a  joke  was  checked,  and 
many  a  laugh  repressed,  for  the  memory  of  our 
dead  shipmate. 

But  the  man  who  was  most  afiected  by  his 
death  was  the  captain.  This  was  natural,  and 
did  not  surprise  us  ;  but  we  were  not  prepared  for 
the  great  change  that  soon  appeared  in  his  manner 
and  conduct.  After  a  time  he  laughed  with  the 
rest  of  us  at  a  good  joke,  and  cheered  as  loud  as 
the  best  when  a  big  fish  turned  belly  up,  but  his 
behaviour  to  us  became  more  gentle  and  kind, 
and  he  entirely  gave  up  the  habit  of  swearing. 
He  also  forbade  working  on  Sunday.  Many  a 
whale  have  I  seen  sporting  and  spouting  near 
us  on  that  day,  but  never  again  after  our  ship- 
mate's death  did  we  lower  a  boat  or  touch  a  har- 
poon on  Sunday.  Some  of  the  grumblers  used 
to  swear  at  this,  and  complain  of  it  to  each  other, 
but  they  never  spoke  so  as  to  let  the  captain  hear, 
and  they  soon  gave  up  their  grumbUng,  for  the 
most  of  us  were  well  pleased  with  the  change, 
and  all  of  us  had  agreed  to  it. 

The  first  Sunday  after  Fred's  death,  the   cap- 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  103 

tain  assembled  the  crew  on  the  quarter-deck,  and 
spoke  to  us  about  it. 

"  My  lads,"  said  he,  "  I've  called  you  aft  to 
make  a  proposal  that  may  perhaps  surprise  some 
of  you.  Up  to  this  time,  you  know  very  well, 
there  has  been  little  difference  aboard  this  ship 
between  Saturday  and  Sunday.  Since  our  poor 
shipmate  died  I  have  been  thinkin'  much  on  thi.« 
matter,  and  I've  come  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
shall  rest  from  all  work  on  the  Lord's- day,  except 
such  aa  must  be  done  to  work  the  ship.  Now, 
lads,  you  know  me  well  enough  by  this  time.  I 
have  never  been  a  religious  man  all  my  life,  and 
I  don't  pretend  to  say  that  I'm  one  now.  I'm 
not  very  learned  on  this  matter,  and  can't  explain 
myself  very  well  ;  but  this  I  know,  that  in  time 
past  I  have  neglected  and  despised  my  Maker, 
and  in  time  to  come  I  mean  to  try  to  respect 
him  and  obey  his  commandments.  When  poor 
Fred  was  dying,  he  asked  me  to  promise  that 
I  would  '  beheve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.' 
I  did  promise,  and,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  I 
mean  to  try.  Now,  what  think  you,  lads,  shall 
we  give  the  whales  a  rest  on  Sundays  ]" 

We  all  agreed  to  this  at  once,  for  the  effect  of 
the  captain's  speech  was  great  upon  us.  It  was 
not  so  much  what  he  said,  as  the  way  in  which 
he  said  it.     He  was  by  nature  a  bold,  determined 


104 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


man,  who  never  flinched  from  danger  or  duty, 
and  when  we  heard  him  talking  in  that  way  we 
could  scarcely  believe  our  ears. 

This  was  all  that  was  said  about  the  matter 
between  us  and  the  captain,  but  we  had  many  a 
hot  discussion  in  the  forecastle  amongst  ourselves 
after  that.  Some  were  in  favour  of  the  new 
move,  and  said,  stoutly,  that  the  captain  was  a 
sensible  fellow.  Others  said  he  was  becoming  an 
old  wife,  and  that  no  luck  would  follow  the  ship 
if  the  captain  became  a  parson  or  a  Methodist. 
In  the  course  of  time,  however,  we  found  the 
benefit  of  the  change  in  every  way  ;  and  the 
grumblers  were  silenced,  because,  in  spite  of  their 
wise  shakings  of  the  head,  we  fiUed  the  ship  with 
oil  as  full  as  she  could  hold,  much  sooner  than 
we  had  expected. 

And  now  that  I  am  on  this  subject,  I  would 
like  to  say  a  few  words,  to  show  that  I  am  not 
merely  inventing  a  tale  to  drag  in  a  discussion  on 
the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  day.  To  manly  and 
straightforward  minds  it  is  a  pleasure  to  inquire 
into  truth,  whenever  it  presents  itself  in  a  natural 
way.  The  keeping  of  Sunday  while  engaged 
in  the  whale-fishery  u  a  difficulty.  Men  have 
found  it  so,  and  have  said  that  the  thing  is  im- 
possible. Other  men  have  found  it  difficult,  but 
have  said — and  have  proved — that  the  thing  is 
possible.     This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  105 

great  questions, — "  Is  the  Sabbath  binding  on 
men  1"  and  "  How  should  it  be  kept  ?"  I  leave 
that  to  abler  hands.  The  best  men  in  the  land 
have  said  "  Yes"  to  the  first  question.  That  is 
sufficient  to  state  here.  But  this  is  the  place  to 
tell  of  what  wlialejnen  have  said  on  this  great 
question. 

There  is  nothing  like  experience.  Let  us  con- 
sider what  has  been  said  by  one  of  the  greatest 
whaling  captains  that  ever  lived,  in  regard  to  his 
experience.  It  was  many  years  after  this  first 
whaling  cruise  that  I  came  to  hear  of  this  good  man. 

Captain  Scoresby,  who  died  at  a  ripe  old  age  a 
few  years  ago,  went  to  the  Greenland  whale- 
fishery  when  quite  a  boy,  in  his  father's  ship. 
He  continued  in  that  fishery  for  many  years,  and 
was  very  successful.  His  schooling  when  young 
was  thus  somewhat  interrupted,  but  he  was  one 
of  those  strong-minded,  sturdy-hearted  men,  who 
will  educate  themselves  in  spite  of  all  difficulties. 
He  seized  every  opportunity  of  acquiring  know- 
ledge, and  at  last  became  one  of  the  great  and 
learned  men  of  his  day.  From  early  boyhood  he 
was  seriously  minded,  and  he  afterwards  became  a 
decided  Christian.  He  had  always  felt  a  strong 
regard  for  the  Sabbath  day,  and,  after  obtaining 
command  of  a  ship  in  the  whale-fishery,  he  re- 
solved to  keep  that  day  holy. 

The  following  are  nearly  his  own  words  on  this 


106 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


Bubject,  and  they  are  well  worthy  of  the  attention 
of  all  thinking  men,  for  the  man  who  uttered 
them  was  a  hard-working  practical  seaman,  who 
knew  his  business  well,  and  did  his  work 
thoroughly. 

Captain  Scoresby  says  : — "  Though  for  several 
of  the  latter  voyages  which  I  undertook  to  the 
northern  seas,  it  had  been  our  rule  to  cease  as 
much  as  possible  from  fishing  on  the  Sabbath,  it 
was  not  until  the  year  1820  that  I  was  enabled 
regularly  to  carry  the  principle  into  efiect.  But 
in  that  year  we  did  not  once  attempt  the  fishing 
on  the  sacred  day.  Several  of  the  harpooneers 
were  much  displeased  with  this  rule  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  voyage,  for  they  had  such  a  stake  in 
the  success  of  the  fishery  that  the  capture  of  a 
single  large  whale  would  yield  them  each  six  or 
eight  pounds.  They  thought.it  a  great  hardship 
that,  whilst  other  ships  took  advantage  of  the 
seven  days  of  the  week,  we  should  be  reduced  to 
six.  The  chief  officer,  at  the  outset,  was  very 
much  annoyed  at  having  to  waste  one  day 
every  week  in  idleness,  and  he  was  heard  to  say 
that  if  we,  under  such  disadvantages,  should  make 
a  successful  voyage,  he  woidd  then  believe  there 
was  indeed  something  like  a  blessing  on  the  keep- 
ing of  the  Sabbath. 

"  The  early  and  middle  part  of  the  voyage 
turned  out  very  unsuccessful.     Towards  the  cloae 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  107 

of  the  Beason  our  principles  were  severely  tested, 
for  on  these  Sundays,  one  after  the  other,  a  num- 
ber of  fine  whales  appeared  most  invitingly  around 
us.  But  in  spite  of  this  temptation  to  '  hungry 
fishermen,'  we  were  enabled  to  stick  to  our  prin- 
ciples, and  the  success  which  followed  was,  I 
believe,  looked  on  by  all  on  board  as  a  special 
blessing  from  God.  On  the  following  Wednesday, 
a  fine  fish  was  struck,  and  soon  secured.  The 
next  Lord's-day  was  one  of  sanctified  and  happy 
repose,  though  fish  were  astir  near  us.  Early  in 
the  week  we  were  again  fortunate.  Strengthened  in 
body  and  spirits  by  rest,  and  blessed,  I  firmly 
believe,  by  Him  who  has  promised  His  blessing  to 
those  who  *  call  the  Sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of 
the  Lord,  honourahle,'  we  killed  several  whales 
under  great  difficulties.  Two  were  taken  on  the 
Tuesday,  and  another  on  Friday — the  value  of  the 
three  being  about  £1600. 

"  A  day  of  sweet  and  welcome  repose  was  the 
succeeding  Sabbath.  A  genial  and  cloudless  at- 
mosphere cheered  the  spirits,  whilst  all  nature, 
sparkling  under  the  sun's  bright  beams,  seemed 
to  participate  in  the  gladness.  Several  whales 
sported  around  us ;  but,  as  far  as  we  were  con- 
cerned, they  were  allowed  a  Sabbath-day's  privi- 
lege to  sport  undisturbed.  The  men  were  now 
accustomed  to  look  for  a  blessing  on  the  keeping 
of  the  Sabbath." 


108 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


I  have  given  Mr.  Scoresby's  opinion  on  this 
point  at  some  length,  because,  coming  from  such 
a  man,  it  ought  to  have  much  weight.  But,  after 
all,  what  does  it  come  to  1  It  only  proves  the 
old  truth,  that  God's  ways  are  better  than  man's 
ways,  and  that  man  finds  his  greatest  success  and 
his  highest  happiness  in  keeping  the  command- 
ments of  his  wise  and  good  Creator. 

Having  made  this  slight  but  earnest  attempt  to 
commend  this  subject  to  the  attention  of  my 
readers,  I  turn  again  to  our  voyage,  which  was 
Eow  drawing  rapidly  to  a  close. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  i09 


CHAPTER  X. 

NEWS  FROM  HOME A  GAM. 

SHOREGOING  people  have  but  little  notion  of 
the  ease  with  which  the  heart  of  a  jack-tar  is 
made  to  rejoice  when  he  is  out  on  a  long  voyage. 
His  pleasures  and  amusements  are  so  few  that 
he  is  thankful  to  make  the  most  of  whatever 
is  thrown  in  his  way.  In  the  whale-fisheries,  no 
doubt,  he  has  more  than  enough  of  excitement, 
but  after  a  time  he  gets  used  to  this,  and  begins 
to  long  for  a  little  variety — and  of  all  the  plea- 
sures that  fall  to  his  lot,  that  which  delights  him 
most  is  to  have  a  gam  with  another  ship. 

Now,  a  gam  is  the  meeting  of  two  or  more 
whale-ships,  their  keeping  company  for  a  time, 
and  the  exchanging  of  visits  by  the  crews.  It  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  a  jollification  on  the 
sea, — the  iavitiag  of  your  friends  to  feast  and 
make  merry  in  your  floating  house.  There  is  this 
difi'erence,  however,  between  a  gam  at  sea  and  a 
party  on  land,  that  youv  friends  on  the  ocean  are 
men  whom  you  perhaps  never  saw  before,  and 
whom  you  will  likely  never  meet  again.     There 

H 


110 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


is  also  another  difference — there  are  no  ladies  at 
a  gam.  This  is  a  great  want,  for  man  is  but  a 
rugged  creature  when  away  from  the  refining 
influence  of  woman  ;  but,  in  the  circumstances,  of 
course,  it  can't  be  helped. 

We  had  a  gam  one  day,  on  this  voyage,  with  a 
Yankee  whale-ship,  and  a  first-rate  gam  it  was, 
for,  as  the  Yankee  had  gammed  three  days  before 
with  another  English  ship,  we  got  a  lot  of  news 
second-hand  ;  and,  as  we  had  not  seen  a  new  face 
for  many  months,  we  felt  towards  those  Yankees 
like  brothers,  and  swallowed  all  they  had  to  tell  us 
like  men  starving  for  news. 

It  was  on  a  fine  calm  morning,  just  after  break- 
fast, that  we  fell  in  with  this  ship.  We  had  seen 
no  whales  for  a  day  or  two,  but  we  did  not  mind 
that,  for  our  hold  was  almost  full  of  oU-barrels. 
Tom  Lokins  and  I  were  leaning  over  the  starboard 
bulwarks,  watching  the  small  fish  that  every  now 
and  then  darted  through  the  clear-blue  water  like 
arrows,  and  smoking  our  pipes  in  sUence.  Tom 
looked  uncommonly  grave,  and  I  knew  that  he 
was  having  some  deep  and  knowing  thoughts  of 
his  own  which  would  leak  out  in  time.  All  at 
once  he  took  his  pipe  from  his  mouth  and  stared 
earnestly  at  the  horizon. 

"  Bob,"  said  he,  speaking  very  slowly,  "  if 
there  aint  a  ship  right  off  the  starboard  beam,  I'm 
a  Dutchman." 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES,  111 

"You  dou't  mean  it  !"  said  I,  starting  with  a 
feeling  of  excitement. 

Before  another  word  could  be  uttered,  the  cry 
of  "  Sail  ho  !"  came  ringing  down  from  the  mast- 
head. Instantly  the  quiet  of  the  morning  was 
broken ;  sleepers  sprang  up  and  rubbed  their  eyes, 
the  men  below  rushed  wildly  up  the  hatchway, 
the  cook  came  tearing  out  of  his  own  private  den, 
flourishing  a  soup-ladle  in  one  hand  and  his  tor- 
mentors in  the  other,  the  steward  came  tumbling 
up  with  a  lump  of  dough  in  his  fist  that  he  had 
forgot  to  throw  down  in  his  haste,  and  the 
captain  bolted  up  from  the  cabin  without  his  hat. 

"  Where  away  V  cried  he,  with  more  than  his 
usual  energy. 

"  Right  off  the  starboard  beam,  sir." 

"  Square  the  yards  !  Lock  alive,  my  hearties," 
was  the  next  order  ;  for  although  the  calm  sea 
was  like  a  sheet  of  glass,  a  light  air,  just  sufficient 
to  fill  our  top-gallant  sails,  enabled  us  to  creep 
through  the  water. 

"  Hurrah  ! "  shouted  the  men  as  we  sprang  to 
obey. 

"  What  does  she  look  like  ? "  roared  the 
captain. 

"A  big  ship,  sir,  I  think,"  replied  the  look- 
out ;  "  but  I  can  only  just  make  out  the  top  of 
her  main  t-gallan'  s'l." — (Sailors  scorn  to  speak 
of  top-gallant  sails.) 


112  FIGHTING  TH  E  WHALES. 

Gradually,  one  by  one,  the  white  sails  of  the 
stranger  rose  up  like  cloudlets  out  of  the  sea,  and 
our  hearts  beat  high  with  hope  and  expectation 
as  we  beheld  the  towering  canvas  of  a  full-rigged 
ship  rise  slowly  into  view. 

"  Show  our  colours,"  said  the  captain. 

In  a  moment  the  Union  Jack  of  Old  England 
was  waving  at  the  mast-head  in  the  gentle  breeze, 
and  we  watched  anxiously  for  a  reply.  The 
stranger  was  polite  ;  his  colours  flew  up  a  moment 
after  and  displayed  the  Stripes  and  Stars  of 
America. 

"  A  Yankee  !"  exclaimed  some  of  the  men  in 
a  tone  of  slight  disappointment. 

I  may  remark,  that  our  disappointment  arose 
simply  from  the  fact  that  there  was  no  chance,  as 
we  supposed,  of  getting  news  from  "  home "  out 
of  a  ship  that  must  have  sailed  last  from  America. 
For  the  rest,  we  cared  not  whether  they  were 
Yankees  or  Britons — they  were  men  who  could 
speak  the  English  tongue,  that  was  enough  for 
us. 

"  Never  mind,  boys,"  cried  one,  "  we'U  have  a 
jolly  gam  ;  that's  a  fact." 

"  So  we  wiU,"  said  another,  "  and  I'll  get  news 
of  my  mad  Irish  cousin,  Terrence  OTlannagan, 
who  went  out  to  seek  his  fortin  in  Ameriky  with 
two  shillin's  and  a  broken  knife  in  his  pocket,  and 
its  been  said  he's  got  into  a  government  situation 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  113 

o'  some  sort  connected  with  the  jails, — whether 
as  captain  or  leftenant  o'  police,  or  turnkey,  I'm 
not  rightly  sure." 

"More  likely  as  a  life-tenant  of  one  of  the 
cells,"  observed  Bill  Blunt,  laughing. 

"  Don't  speak  ill  of  a  better  man  than  yerself 
behind  his  back,"  retorted  the  owner  of  the  Irish 
cousin. 

«  Stand  by  to  lower  the  joUy-boat,"  cried  the 
captain. 

*'  Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  Lower  away  ! " 

In  a  few  minutes  we  were  leaping  over  the  calm 
sea  in  the  direction  of  the  strange  ship,  for  the 
breeze  had  died  down,  and  we  were  too  eager  to 
meet  with  new  faces,  and  to  hear  the  sound  of 
new  voices,  to  wait  for  the  wind. 

To  our  joy  we  found  that  the  Yankee  had  had 
a  gam  (as  I  have  already  said)  with  an  English 
ship  a  few  days  before,  so  we  returned  to  our 
vessel  loaded  with  old  newspapers  from  England, 
having  invited  tlie  captain  and  crew  of  the  Yankee 
to  come  aboard  of  us  and  spend  the  day. 

While  preparation  was  being  made  for  the 
reception  of  our  friends,  we  got  hold  of  two  of  the 
old  newspapers,  and  Tom  Lokins  seized  one, 
while  Bill  Blunt  got  the  other,  and  both  men  sat 
down  on  the  windlass  to  retail  the  news  to  a 
crowd  of  eager  men  who  tried  hard  to  listen  to 


114 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


both  at  once,  and  so  could  make  nothing  out  of 
either. 

"  Hold  hard,  Tom  Lokins,"  cried  one.  "  What's 
that  you  say  about  the  Emperor,  Bill  V 

"The  Emperor  of  Roosia,"  said  Bill  Blunt, 
reading  slowly,  and  with  diflBculty,  "  is — stop  a 
bit,  messmates,  wot  ca7i  this  word  be  1 — the  Em- 
peror of  Roosia  is — " 

"  Blowed  up  with  gunpowder,  and  shattered 
to  a  thousand  pieces,"  said  Tom  Lokins,  raising 
his  voice  with  excitement,  as  he  read  from  his 
paper  an  account  of  tlie  blowing  up  of  a  moun- 
tain fortress  in  India. 

"  Oh  !  come,  I  say,  one  at  a  time,  if  you 
please  ;"  cried  a  harpooneer,  "  a  feller  can't  git  a 
word  of  sense  out  of  sich  a  jumble." 

"  Come,  messmates,"  cried  two  or  three  voices, 
as  Tom  stopped  suddenly,  and  looked  hard  at  the 
paper,  "  go  ahead  !  wot  have  ye  got  there  that 
makes  ye  look  as  wise  as  an  owl  1  Has  war  been 
and  broke  out  with  the  French  1 " 

"  I  do  believe  he's  readin'  the  births,  marriages, 
and  deaths,"  said  one  of  the  men,  peeping  over 
Tom's  shoulder. 

"Read  'em  out,  then,  can't  ye?"  cried  an- 
other. 

"  I  say,  Bill  Blunt,  I  think  this  consarns  you" 
cried  Tom  ;  "  isn't  your  sweatheart's  name  Susan 
Croft  1" 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  115 

"  That's  a  fact,"  said  Bill,  looking  up  from  his 
paper,  "  and  who  has  got  a  word  to  say  agin  the 
prettiest  lass  in  all  Liverpool  1 " 

"Nobody's  got  a  word  to  say  against  her," 
replied  Tom  ;   "  but  she's  married,  that's  all." 

BiU  Blunt  leaped  up  as  if  he  had  been  shot, 
and  the  blood  rushed  to  his  face,  as  he  seized  the 
paper,  and  tried  to  find  the  place. 

"  Where  is  it,  Tom  1  let  me  see  it  with  my  own 
two  eyes.      Oh,  here  it  is  ! " 

The  poor  man's  face  grew  paler  and  paler  as  he 
read  the  following  words  : — 

"  Married  at  Liverpool,  on  the  5th  inst.,  by  the 
Rev.  Charles  Manson,  Edward  Gordon,  Esq.,  to 
Susan,  youngest  daughter  of  Admiral  Croft — " 

A  perfect  roar  of  laughter  drowned  the  remain- 
der of  the  sentence. 

"Well  done,  Bill  Blunt — Mister  Blunt,  we'll 
have  to  call  him  hereafter,"  said  Tom,  with  a  giim 
smile  ;  "  I  had  no  notion  you  thought  so  much  o' 
yourself  as  to  aim  at  an  admiral's  daughter." 

"  AU  right,  my  hearties,  chaff  away !"  said 
BiU,  fetching  a  deep  sigh  of  relief,  while  a  broad 
grin  played  on  his  weather-beaten  visage.  "  There's 
two  Susan  Crofts,  that 's  all ;  but  I  wouldn't  give 
mi/  Susan  for  all  the  admiral's  daughters  that  ever 
walked  in  shoe-leather." 

"  Hallo  !  here  come  the  Yankees,"  c-ied  the 
captain,  coming  on  deck  at  that  moment. 


116 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


Our  newspapers  were  thrown  down  at  once, 
and  we  prepared  to  receive  our  guests,  who,  we 
could  see,  had  just  put  otf  from  their  ship  in  two 
boats.  But  before  they  had  come  within  a  mile 
of  us,  their  attention,  as  well  as  ours,  was  riveted 
on  a  most  extraordinary  sight. 

Not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  ahead  of  our 
ship,  a  whale  came  suddenly  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  seeming,  by  its  wild  motions,  to  be  in  a 
state  of  terror.  It  continued  for  some  time  to 
struggle,  and  lash  the  whole  sea  around  it  into  a 
white  foam. 

At  once  the  boats  were  lowered  from  both 
ships,  and  we  went  after  this  fish,  but  his  mo- 
tions were  so  violent,  that  we  found  it  utterly 
impossible  to  get  near  enough  to  throw  a  harpoon. 
When  we  had  approached  somewhat  closely,  we 
discovered  that  it  had  been  attacked  by  a  killer 
fish,  which  was  fully  twenty  feet  long,  and  stuck 
to  it  like  a  leech.  The  monster's  struggles  were 
made  in  trying  to  shake  itself  free  of  this  tremend- 
ous enemy,  but  it  could  not  accomplish  this. 
The  killer  held  him  by  the  under  jaw,  and  hung 
on  there,  while  the  whale  threw  himself  out  of 
the  water  in  his  agony,  with  his  great  mouth  open, 
like  a  huge  cavern,  and  the  blood  flowing  so  fast 
from  the  wound  that  the  sea  was  dyed  for  a  long 
distance  roimd.  This  killer  fought  like  a  bull- 
dog.    I:  held  on  until  the  whale  was  exhausted. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  117 

out  they  passed  away  from  us  in  such  a  confused 
struggle,  that  a  harpoon  could  not  be  fixed  for 
an  hour  after  we  first  saw  them.  On  this  being 
done,  the  killer  let  go,  and  the  whale,  being  al- 
ready half  dead,  was  soon  killed. 

The  Yankee  boats  were  the  first  to  come  up 
with  this  fish,  so  the  prize  belonged  to  them.  We 
were  well  pleased  at  this,  as  we  could  afibrd 
to  let  them  have  it,  seeing  that  we  could  scarcely 
have  found  room  to  stow  away  the  oil  in  our  hold. 
It  was  the  Yankee's  first  fish,  too,  so  they  were  in 
great  spirits  about  it,  and  towed  it  to  their  ship, 
singing  "Yankee-doodle"  with  all  their  might. 

As  they  passed  our  boat,  the  captain  hailed 
them. 

"  I  wish  you  joy  of  your  first  fish,  sir,"  said  he 
to  the  Yankee  captain. 

*'  Thank  you,  stranger.  I  guess  we're  in  luck, 
though  it  aint  a  big  one.  I  say,  what  sort  o'  brute 
was  that  that  had  hold  of  him  1  Never  seed  sich 
a  crittur  in  all  my  life." 

"  He's  a  killer,"  said  our  captain. 

"  A  killer  !  Guess  he  just  is,  and  no  mistake, 
if  we  hadn't  helped  him,  he'd  have  done  the  job 
for  himself  !     What  does  he  kill  him  for  1 " 

"  To  eat  him,  but  I  'm  told  he  only  eats  the 
tongue.  You'll  not  forget  that  you've  promised 
to  gam  with  us  to-night,"  cried  our  captain,  as 
they  were  about  to  commence  pulling  again. 


118 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


"  All  right,  stranger,  one  half  will  come  to- 
night,  before  sundown  ;  t'other  half  to-morrow,  if 
the  calm  holds.      Good-day.      Give  way,  lads." 

The  men  dipped  their  oars,  and  resumed  their 
song,  while  we  pulled  back  to  our  ship.  We  did 
not  offer  to  help  them,  because  the  fish  was  a 
small  one,  and  the  distance  they  had  to  go  not 
great. 

It  was  near  sunset  when,  according  to  promise, 
the  Yankees  came  on  board,  and  spent  a  long 
evening  with  us.  They  were  a  free,  open-hearted, 
boastful,  conceited,  good-humoured  set  of  fellows, 
and  a  jolly  night  we  had  of  it  in  the  forecastle, 
while  the  mates  and  captains  were  enjoying  them- 
selves and  spinning  their  yarns  in  the  cabin. 

Of  course,  we  began  with  demands  for  home- 
news,  and,  when  we  had  pumped  out  of  them 
every  drop  they  had,  we  began  to  songs  and 
spinning  yarns.  And  it  was  now  that  my  friend 
Tom  Lokins  came  out  strong,  and  went  on  at  such 
a  rate,  that  he  quite  won  the  hearts  of  our  guests. 
Tom  was  not  noisy,  and  he  was  slow  in  his  talk, 
but  he  had  the  knack  of  telling  a  good  story  ;  he 
never  used  a  wrong  word,  or  a  word  too  many, 
and,  having  a  great  deal  of  humour,  men  could 
not  help  listening  when  he  began  to  talk. 

After  this  we  had  a  dance,  and  here  I  became 
useful,  being  able  to  play  Scotch  reels  and  Iijish 
jigs  on  the  fiddle.     Then  we  had  songs  and  yarns 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  119 

again.  Some  could  tell  of  furious  fights  with 
whales  that  made  our  blood  boil ;  others  could 
talk  of  the  green  fields  at  home,  until  we  almost 
fancied  we  were  boys  again  ;  and  some  could  not 
tell  stories  at  all.  They  had  little  to  say,  and 
that  little  they  said  ill ;  and  I  noticed  that  many 
of  those  who  were  perfect  bores  would  cry  loudest 
to  be  heard,  though  none  of  us  wanted  to  lit  ar 
them.  We  used  to  quench  such  fellows  by  call- 
ing loudly  for  a  soug  with  a  rousing  cl  orus. 

It  was  not  till  the  night  was  far  spent,  and  the 
sUver  moon  was  sailing  through  the  starry  sky, 
that  the  Yankees  left  us,  and  rowed  away  with  a 
parting  cheer. 


120 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


RETURN  HOME. 


QIX  months  after  our  "  gam"  with  the  Yankeea 
i^  Tom  Lokins  and  I  found  ourselves  seated 
once  more  in  the  little  garret  beside  my  dear  old 
mother. 

"  Deary  me,  Robert,  how  changed  ye  are  !" 

"  Changed,  mother  !  I  should  think  so  !  If 
you'd  gone  through  all  that  I've  done  and  seen 
since  we  last  sat  together  in  this  room  you'd  be 
changed  too." 

"  And  have  ye  really  seen  the  whales,  my  boy  ?" 
continued  my  mother,  stroking  my  face  with  her 
old  hand. 

"  Seen  them  1  ay,  and  killed  them  too — many 
of  them." 

"  You've  been  in  danger,  my  sou,"  said  my 
mother  earnestly,  "but  the  Lord  has  preserved 
you  safe  through  it  all." 

"  Ay,  mother,  He  has  preserved  my  life  in  the 
midst  of  many  dangers,"  said  I,  "  for  which  I  am 
most  thankful ;  but  He  has  done  more  than  that. 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  121 

He  has  preserved  my  soul  in  the  midst  of  dangers 
of  a  far  worse  kind  than  one's  body  falls  in  with 
while  fighting  the  whales.  I'll  tell  ye  of  that 
some  other  time  when  we  are  alone." 

There  was  a  short  silence  after  this,  during  which 
my  mother  and  I  gazed  earnestly  at  each  other, 
and  Tom  Lokins  smoked  his  pipe  and  stared  at 
the  fire. 

"  Robert,  how  big  is  a  whale  1"  inquired  my 
mother,  suddenly. 

"  How  big  1  why  it's  as  big  as  a  small  ship, 
only  it's  longer,  and  not  quite  so  fat." 

"  Robert,"  replied  my  mother  gravely,  "  ye 
didn't  use  to  tell  untruths  ;  ye  must  be  jokin'." 

"  Joking,  mother,  I  was  never  more  in  earnest 
in  my  life.  Why,  I  tell  you  that  I've  seen,  ay, 
and  helped  to  cut  up,  whales  that  were  more  than 
sixty  feet  long,  with  heads  so  big  that  their 
mouths  could  have  taken  in  a  boat.  Why,  mother, 
I  declare  to  you  that  you  could  put  this  room 
into  a  whale's  mouth,  and  you  and  Tom  and  I 
could  sit  round  this  table  and  take  our  tea  upon 
his  tongue  quite  comfortable.  Isn't  that  true, 
Tomr' 

My  mother  looked  at  Tom,  who  removed  his 
pipe,  puffed  a  cloud  of  smoke,  and  nodded  his 
head  twice  very  decidedly. 

"  Moreover,"  said  I,  "  a  whale  is  so  big  and 
Btrong,  that  it  can  knock  a  boat  right  up  into  the 


122 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 


air,  and  break  in  the  sides  of  a  ship.  One  day 
a  whale  fell  right  on  top  of  one  of  our  boats 
and  smashed  it  all  to  bits.  Now  that's  a  real 
truth  !" 

Again  my  mother  looked  at  Tom  Lokins,  and 
again  that  worthy  man  puffed  an  immense  cloud 
of  smoke  and  nodded  his  head  more  decidedly 
than  before.  Being  anxious  to  put  to  flight  all 
her  doubts  at  once,  he  said  solemnly,  "  Old  ooman, 
that's  a  fact  !'' 

"  Robert,"  said  my  mother,  "  tell  me  some- 
thing about  the  whales." 

Just  as  she  said  this  the  door  opened,  and  in 
came  the  good  old  gentleman  with  the  nose  like 
his  cane-knob,  and  with  as  kind  a  heart  as  ever 
beat  in  a  human  breast.  My  mother  had  already 
told  me  that  he  came  to  see  her  regularly  once  a 
week,  ever  since  I  went  to  sea,  except  in  summer, 
when  he  was  away  in  the  country,  and  that  he 
had  never  allowed  her  to  want  for  anything.  My 
mother  one  day  said  to  him,  "  I  wonder,  sir,  why 
ye  take  so  much  thought  for  a  poor  old  body  like 
me  ;"  to  which  he  replied,  "GodteUs  me,  'Blessed 
are  they  that  consider  the  poor.'  As  I  want  God's 
blessing,  this  is  one  of  the  means  I  take  to  get  it  ; 
so,  you  see,"  said  he  with  a  smUe,  "  I'm  a  selfish 
old  feUoWj  for  I'm  thinking  of  myself  as  well  as 
you." 

I  need  scarcely  say  that  there  was  a  hearty 


FIGHTING  THE  WHALES.  123 

meetinof  between  us  three,  and  that  we  had  much 
to  say  to  each  other.  But  in  the  midst  of  it  all 
my  mother  turned  to  the  old  gentleman  and 
said — 

"  Robert  was  just  going  to  tell  me  something 
about  his  adventures  with  the  whales." 

"  That's  capital !"  cried  the  old  gentleman, 
rubbing  his  hands.  "  Come,  Bob,  my  boy,  let's 
bear  about  'em." 

Being  thus  invited,  I  consented  to  spin  them  a 
yarn.  The  old  gentleman  settled  himself  in  his 
chair,  my  mother  smoothed  her  apron,  folded  her 
hands,  and  looked  meekly  into  my  face.  Tom 
Lokins  tilled  his  pipe,  stretched  out  his  foot  to 
poke  the  fire  with  the  toe  of  his  shoe,  and  began 
to  smoke  like  a  steam-engine  ;  then  I  cleared  my 
throat  and  began  my  tale,  and  before  I  had  done 
talking  that  night,  I  had  told  them  all  that  I  have 
told  in  tliis  little  book  to  you,  good  reader,  almost 
word  for  word. 

Thus  ended  my  first  voyage  to  the  South  Seas. 
Many  and  many  a  trip  have  I  made  since  then, 
and  many  a  wonderful  sight  have  I  seen,  both  in 
the  south  and  in  the  north.  But  if  I  were  to  write 
an  account  of  all  my  adventures,  my  little  book 
would  grow  into  a  big  one,  I  must  therefore 
come  to  a  close. 

The  profits  of  this  voyage  were  so  great,  that 
I  was  enabled  to  place  my  mother  in  a  position  of 


124  FIGHTING  THE  WHALES. 

comfort  for  the  rest  of  her  life,  which,  alas  !  waa 
very  short.  She  died  about  six  months  after  my 
return.  I  nursed  her  to  the  end,  and  closed  her 
eyes.  The  last  word  she  uttered  was  her-  Saviour's 
name.  She  died,  as  she  had  lived,  trusting  in  the 
Lord  ;  and  when  I  laid  her  dear  head  in  the  grave 
my  heart  seemed  to  die  within  me,  for  1  felt  that 
I  had  lost  one  of  God's  most  precious  gifts — an 
honest,  gentle,  pious  mother. 

I'm  getting  to  be  an  old  man  now,  but,  through 
the  blessing  of  God,  I  am  comfortable  and  happy. 
As  I  have  more  than  enough  of  this  world's  goods, 
and  no  family  to  care  for,  my  chief  occupation  ia 
to  look  after  the  poor,  and  particularly  the  old 
women  who  live  in  my  neighbourhood.  After  the 
work  of  the  day  is  done,  I  generally  go  and  spend 
the  evening  with  Tom  Lokins,  who  lives  near  by, 
and  is  stout  and  hearty  still  ;  or  he  comes  and 
spends  it  with  me,  and,  while  we  smoke  our 
pipes  together,  we  often  fall  to  talking  about  those 
stirring  days  when,  in  the  strength  and  hope  of 
youth,  we  sailed  together  to  the  South  Seas,  and 
took  to — fighting  the  Whales. 


Fighting  a  Polar  Bear. 


I 


il 


FAST  IN   THE   ICE 


CHAPTER  I. 

OUTWARD   BOUND. 

ONE  day,  many  years  ago,  a  brig  cast  off  from 
her  moorings  and  sailed  from  a  British  port 
for  the  Polar  Seas.     That  brig  never  came  back. 

Many  a  hearty  cheer  was  given,  many  a  kind 
wish  was  uttered,  many  a  handkerchief  was  waved 
and  many  a  tearful  eye  gazed  that  day  as  the 
vessel  left  old  England,  and  steered  her  course  into 
the  unknown  regions  of  the  far  north. 

But  no  cheer  ever  greeted  her  return  ;  no  bright 
eyes  ever  watched  her  homeward-bound  sails  ris- 
ing on  the  far  off  horizon. 

Battered  by  the  storms  of  the  Arctic  Seas,  her 
sails  and  cordage  stiffened  by  the  frosts,  and  her 
hull  rasped  and  shattered  by  the  ice  of  those 
regions,  she  was  forced  on  a  shore  where  the 
green  grass  has  little  chance  to  grow,  where  winter 
reigns  nearly  all  the  year  round,  where  man  never 


8 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


sends  his  merchandise,  and  never  drives  his  plough. 
There  the  brig  was  frozen  in  ;  there,  for  two  long 
years,  she  lay  unable  to  move,  and  her  starving 
crew  forsook  her  ;  there,  year  after  year  she  lay, 
unknown,  unvisited  by  civilized  man,  and  unless 
the  wild  Eskimos*  have  torn  her  to  pieces  and  made 
spears  of  her  timbers,  or  the  ice  has  swept  her  out 
to  sea  and  whirled  her  to  destruction,  there  she 
lies  still — hard  and  fast  in  the  ice. 

The  vessel  was  lost  but  her  crew  were  saved, 
and  most  of  them  returned  to  tell  their  kinsfolk 
of  the  wonders  and  the  dangers  of  the  frozen 
regions,  where  God  has  created  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  some  of  the  most  awful  objects  that 
were  ever  looked  on  by  the  eye  of  man. 

What  was  told  by  the  fireside,  long  ago,  is  now 
recounted  in  this  book. 

Imagine  a  tall  strong  man,  of  about  five  and 
forty,  with  short  curly  black  hair,  just  beginning 
to  turn  grey  ;  stern  black  eyes  that  look  as  if  they 
could  pierce  into  your  secret  thoughts  ;  a  firm 
mouth  with  lines  of  good -will  and  kindness  lurk- 
ing about  it ;  a  deeply  browned  skin,  and  a  short 
thick  beard  and  moustache.  That  is  a  portrait 
of  the  commander  of  the  brig.  His  name  was 
Harvey.  He  stood  on  the  deck  close  by  the 
wheel  looking  wistfully  over  the  stern.     As  the 

*  This  word  is  here  spelt  as  pronounced.  It  is  usually 
spelt  Esquimaux. 


II 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  9 

vessel  bent  before  the  breeze  and  cut  swiftly 
through  the  "water  a  female  hand  was  raised  among 
the  gazers  on  the  pier,  and  a  white  scarf  waved  in 
the  breeze.  In  the  fore-front  of  the  throng,  and 
lower  down,  another  hand  was  raised ;  it  was  a 
little  one,  but  very  vigorous ;  it  whirled  a  cap 
round  a  small  head  of  curly  black  hair,  and  a 
shrill  "  hurrah  !"  came  floating  out  to  sea. 

The  captain  kissed  his  hand  and  waved  his  hat 
in  reply  ;  then,  wheeling  suddenly  round,  he 
shouted  in  a  voice  of  thunder — 

"  Mind  your  helm  there,  let  her  away  a  point. 
Take  a  pull  on  these  fore-topsail  halyards ;  look 
alive,  lads  !" 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  replied  the  men. 

There  was  no  occasion  whatever  for  these  orders. 
The  captain  knew  that  well  enough,  but  he  had 
his  own  reasons  for  giving  them.  The  men  knew 
that  too,  and  they  understood  his  reasons  when 
they  observed  the  increased  sternness  of  his  eyes 
and  the  compression  of  his  lips. 

Inclination  and  duty  !  What  wars  go  on  in  the 
hearts  of  men — high  and  low,  rich  and  poor — be- 
tween these  two.  What  varied  fortune  follows 
man,  according  as  the  one  or  the  other  carries  the 
day. 

"  Please,  sir,"  said  a  gruff,  broad-shouldered, 
and  extremely  short  man,  with  little  or  no  fore- 
head, a  hard  vacant  face,  and  a  pair  of  enormous 


10  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

red  whiskers — •'  Please,  sir,  Sam  Baker's  took  very 
bad  ;  I  think  it  woidd  be  as  well  if  you  could  give 
him  a  little  physic,  sir,  a  tumbler  of  Epsom,  or 
somethink  of  that  sort." 

*'  Why,  Mr.  Dicey,  there  cau't  be  anything  very 
far  wrong  with  Baker,"  said  the  captain,  looking 
down  at  his  second  mate,  "  he  seems  to  me  one  of 
the  healthiest  men  in  the  ship.  What's  the  matter 
with  him  V 

"Well,  I  can't  say,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Dicey, 
"  but  he  looks  'orrible  bad,  all  yellow  and  green 
about  the  gills,  and  fearful  red  round  the  eyes. 
But  what  frightens  me  most  is  that  I  heard  him 
groanin'  very  heavy  about  quarter  of  an  hour  ago, 
and  then  1  saw  him  suddenly  fling  himself  into 
his  'aramock  and  begin  blubberin'  like  a  child. 
Now,  sir,  I  say,  when  a  grow'd-up  man  gives  way 
like  that,  there  must  be  somethink  far  wrong  with 
his  inside.  And  it's  a  serious  thing,  sir,  to  take  a 
sick  man  on  such  a  voyage  as  this." 

"Does  he  not  say  what's  wrong  with  him  ?" 
asked  the  captain. 

"  No,  sir,  he  don't.  He  says  it's  nothin'  and 
he'll  be  all  right  if  he's  only  let  alone.  I  did  hear 
him  once  or  twice  muttering  somethink  about  his 
wife  and  child  ;  you  know,  sir,  he's  got  a  young 
wife,  and  she  had  a  baby  about  two  months  'fore 
we  came  away,  but  I  can't  think  that's  got  much 
to  do  with  it,  for  I've  got  a  wife  myself,  sir,  and 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  1 1 

BIX  childien,  two  of  'em  bein'  babies,  and  that  don't 
upset  me,  and  Baker's  a  much  stronger  man." 

<'  You  are  right,  Mr.  Dicey,  he  is  a  much  stron- 
ger man  than  you,"  replied  the  captain,  "  and  I 
doubt  not  that  his  strength  will  enable  him  to  get 
over  this  without  the  aid  of  physic." 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Dicey. 

The  second  mate  was  a  man  whose  countenance 
never  showed  any  signs  of  emotion,  no  matter  what 
he  felt.  He  seldom  laughed,  or,  if  he  did,  his 
mouth  remained  almost  motionless,  and  the  sounds 
that  came  out  were  anything  but  cheerful.  He 
had  light  grey  eyes  which  always  wore  an  expres- 
sion of  astonishmeut ;  but  the  expression  was  acci- 
dental, it  indicated  no  feeling.  He  would  have 
said  "  Very  well,  sir,"  if  the  captain  had  refused 
to  give  poor  Baker  food  instead  of  physic. 

"And,  hark'ee,  Mr.  Dicey,"  said  the  captain, 
"  don't  let  him  be  disturbed  till  he  feels  inclined 
to  move." 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  replied  the  second  mate, 
touching  his  cap  as  he  turned  away. 

"  So,"  murmured  the  captain  as  he  gazed  earn- 
estly at  the  now  distant  shore,  "  I'm  not  the  only 
one  who  carries  a  hca\'y  heart  to  sea  this  day  and 
leaves  sorrowing  hearts  behind  him." 


12  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


CHAPTER    II. 

AT  SEA THE  FIRST  STOflM 

IT  is  now  hundreds  of  years  since  the  North 
Polar  Regions  began  to  attract  general  atten- 
tion. Men  have  long  felt  very  inquisitive  about 
that  part  of  the  earth,  and  many  good  ships, 
many  noble  lives  have  been  lost  in  trying  to  force 
a  passage  through  the  ice  that  encumbers  the 
Arctic  seas  summer  and  winter.  Britain  has  done 
more  than  other  nations  in  the  cause  of  discovery 
within  the  Arctic  circle.  The  last  and  greatest  of 
her  Arctic  heroes  perished  there — the  famous  Sir 
John  Franklin. 

Were  I  writing  a  history  of  those  regions,  I 
would  have  much  to  say  of  other  countries  as 
well  as  of  our  own.  But  such  is  jnot  my  object 
in  this  book.  I  mean  simply  to  follow  in  the 
wake  of  one  of  Britain's  adventurous  discover- 
ers, and  thus  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the 
fortunes  of  those  gallant  men  who  risk  life  and 
limb  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  knowledge  of  dis- 
tant lands. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  13 

There  have  always  been  restless  spirits  in  this 
country.  There  have  ever  been  men  who,  when 
boys,  were  full  of  mischief,  and  who  could  "  settle 
to  nothing"  when  they  grew  up.  Lucky  for  us, 
lucky  for  the  world,  that  such  is  the  case  !  Many 
of  our  "  restless  spirits,"  as  we  call  them,  have 
turned  out  to  be  our  heroes,  our  discoverers,  our 
greatest  men.  No  doubt  many  of  them  have  be- 
come our  drones,  our  sharpers,  our  blacklegs. 
But  that  is  just  saying  that  some  men  are  good, 
while  others  are  bad — no  blame  is  due  to  what 
is  called  the  restlessness  of  spirit.  Our  restless 
men,  if  good,  find  rest  in  action,  in  bold  ener- 
getic toil ;  if  bad,  they  find  rest  alas  in  untimely 
graves  ! 

Captain  Harvey  was  one  of  our  restless  spirits. 
He  had  a  deeply  learned  friend  who  said  to  him 
one  day  that  he  felt  sure  "  there  was  a  sea  of  open 
water  round  the  NoHh  Pole!"  Hundreds  of 
ships  had  tried  to  reach  that  pole  without  success, 
because  they  always  found  a  barrier  of  thick  ice 
raised  against  them.  This  friend  said  that  if  a 
ship  could  only  cut  or  force  its  way  through  the 
ice  to  a  certain  latitude  north,  open  water  would 
be  found.  Captain  Harvey  was  much  interested 
in  this.  He  could  not  rest  until  he  had  proved 
it.  He  had  plenty  of  money,  so  had  his  friend. 
They  resolved  to  buy  a  vessel  and  send  it  to  the 
seas  lying  within  the  Arctic  circle.     Other  rich 


14  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

friends  helped  them  ;  a  brig  was  bought,  it  was 
named  the  Hope,  and,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
last  chapter,  it  finally  set  sail  imder  command  of 
Captain  Harvey. 

Many  days  and  nights  passed,  and  the  Hope 
kept  her  course  steadily  towards  the  coast  of  North 
America.  Greenland  was  the  first  land  they  hoped 
to  see.  Bafiin's  Bay  was  the  strait  through  which 
they  hoped  to  reach  the  open  polar  sea. 

The  Hope  left  England  as  a  whaler,  with 
all  the  boats,  lances,  harpoons,  lines,  and  other 
apparatus  used  in  the  whale  fishery.  It  was  in- 
tended that  she  shovdd  do  a  little  business  in  that 
way  if  Captain  Harvey  thought  it  advisable,  but 
the  discovery  of  new  lands  and  seas  was  their 
chief  end  and  aim. 

At  first  the  weather  was  fine,  the  wind  fair, 
and  the  voyage  prosperous.  But  one  night  there 
came  a  deep  calm.  Not  a  breath  of  air  moved 
over  the  sea,  which  was  as  clear  and  polished  as 
a  looking-glass.  The  captain  walked  the  deck 
with  the  surgeon  of  the  ship,  a  nephew  of  his 
own,  named  Gregory. 

Tom  Gregory  was  a  youth  of  about  nineteen, 
who  had  not  passed  through  the  whole  course  of 
a  doctor's  education,  but  who  was  a  clever  fellow, 
and  better  able  to  cut  and  carve  and  physic  poor 
sufiering  humanity  than  many  an  older  man  who 
wrote   M.D.    after    his    name.      He   was   a   fine, 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


15 


handsome,  strapping  fellow,  with  a  "determined 
manner  and  a  kind  heart.  He  was  able  to  pull 
an  oar  with  the  best  man  aboard,  and  could  even 
steer  the  brig  in  fine  weather,  if  need  be.  He 
was  hearty  and  romantic,  and  a  great  favourite 
with  the  men.  He,  too,  was  a  restless  spirit. 
He  had  grown  tired  of  college  life,  and  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  take  a  year's  run  into  the  Polar 
Regions,  by  way  of  improving  his  knowledge  of 
the  "  outlandish"  parts  of  the  world. 

"  I  don't  like  the  look  of  the  sky  to-day,  Tom," 
said  the  captain,  glancing  at  the  horizon  and  then 
at  the  sails. 

"  Indeed  ! "  said  Tom,  in  surprise.  "  It  seems 
to  me  the  most  beautiful  afternoon  we  have  had 
since  the  voyage  began.  But  I  suppose  you  sea- 
men are  learned  in  signs  which  we  landsmen  do 
not  understand." 

"  Perhaps  we  are,"  replied  the  captain  ;  "  but 
it  does  not  require  much  knowledge  of  the  weather 
to  say  that  such  a  dead  calm  as  this,  and  such 
unusual  heat,  is  not  likely  to  end  in  a  gentle 
breeze." 

"  You  don't  object  to  a  stiff  breeze,  uncle  ?" 
said  the  youth. 

"  No,  Tom  ;  but  I  don't  like  a  storm,  because 
it  does  us  no  good,  and  may  do  us  harm." 

"  Storms  do  you  no  good,  uncle  !"  cried  Tom  ; 
"  how  can  you  say  so  1     Why,  what  is  it  that 


16 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


makes  our  eaaors  such  trumps  ]  The  British  tar 
would  not  be  able  to  face  danger  as  he  does  if 
there  were  no  storms." 

"  True,  Tom,  but  the  British  tar  would  not  re- 
quire to  face  danger  at  all  if  there  were  no  storms. 
What  says  the  barometer,  Mr.  Mansell?"  said  the 
captain,  looking  down  the  skylight  into  the  cabin, 
where  the  first  mate — a  middle-sized  man,  of  thirty- 
five,  or  thereabouts — was  seated  at  the  table  writ- 
ing up  the  ship's  log-book. 

"  The  glass  has  gone  down  an  inch,  sir,  and  is 
still  falling,"  answered  the  mate. 

"  Reef  the  topsail,  Mr.  Dicey,"  cried  the  cap- 
tain, on  hearing  this. 

"  Why  such  haste  ?"  inquired  Gregory. 

"  Because  such  a  sudden  fall  in  the  barometer 
is  a  sure  sign  of  approaching  bad  weather,"  an- 
swered the  captain. 

The  first  man  on  the  shrouds,  and  out  upon  the 
main-topsail  yard,  was  Sam  Baker,  whose  active 
movements  and  hearty  manner  showed  that  he 
had  quite  recovered  his  health  without  the  use  of 
physic.  He  was  quickly  followed  by  some  of  his 
shipmates,  aU  of  whom  were  picked  men — able  in 
body  and  ready  for  anything. 

In  a  few  minutes  sail  was  reduced.  Soon 
after  that,  clouds  began  to  rise  on  the  horizon 
and  spread  over  the  sky.  Before  half  an  hour 
had  passed,  the  breeze  came — came  far  stronger 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  17 

than  had  been  expected — and  the  order  to  take  in 
sail  had  to  be  repeated. 

Baker  was  first  again.  He  was  closely  followed 
by  Joe  Davis  and  Jim  Croft,  both  of  them  sturdy 
fellows — good  specimens  of  the  British  seaman. 
Davy  Butts,  who  came  next,  was  not  so  good  a 
specimen.  He  was  nearly  six  feet  high,  veiy 
thin  and  loosely  put  together,  like  a  piece  of  bad 
furniture.  But  his  bones  were  big,  and  he  was 
stronger  than  he  looked.  He  would  not  have 
formed  one  of  such  a  crew  had  he  not  been  a  good 
man.  The  rest  of  the  crew,  of  whom  there  were 
eighteen,  not  including  the  oflBcers,  were  of  aU 
shapes,  sizes,  and  complexions. 

The  sails  had  scarcely  been  taken  in  when  the 
storm  burst  on  the  brig  in  all  its  fury.  The  waves 
rose  like  mountains  and  followed  after  her,  as  if 
they  were  eager  to  swallow  her  up.  The  sky 
grew  dark  overhead  as  the  night  closed  in,  the 
wind  shrieked  through  the  rigging,  and  the  rag  of 
canvas  that  they  ventured  to  hoist  seemed  about 
to  burst  away  from  the  yard.  It  was  an  awful 
night.  Such  a  night  as  causes  even  reckless  men 
to  feel  how  helpless  they  are — how  dependent  on 
the  arm  of  God.  The  gale  steadily  increased  until 
near  midnight,  when  it  blew  a  perfect  hurricane. 

"  It's  a  dirty  night,"  observed  the  captain  to 
the  second  mate,  as  the  latter  came  on  deck  to 
relieve  the  watch. 


18 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


'*  It  is,  Bir,"  replied  Mr.  Dicey,  as  cooUy  as  if 
he  were  about  to  sit  down  to  a  good  dinner  on 
shore.  Mr.  Dicey  was  a  remarkably  matter-of- 
fact  man.  He  looked  upon  a  storm  as  he  looked 
upon  a  fit  of  the  toothache — a  thing  that  had  to 
be  endured,  and  was  not  worth  making  a  fuss 
about. 

"  It  won't  last  long,"  said  the  captain. 

*'  No,  sir,  it  won't,"  answered  Mr.  Dicey. 

As  Mr.  Dicey  did  not  seem  inclined  to  say  more, 
the  captain  went  below,  and  flung  himself  on  a 
locker,  having  given  orders  that  he  should  be 
called  if  any  change  for  the  worse  took  place  in 
the  weather.  Soon  afterwards  a  tremendous  sea 
rose  high  over  the  stem,  and  part  of  it  fell  on  the 
deck  with  a  terrible  crash,  washing  Mr.  Dicey 
into  the  lee-scuppers,  and  almost  sweeping  him 
overboard.  On  regaining  his  feet,  and  his  posi- 
tion beside  the  wheel,  the  second  mate  shook 
himself,  and  considered  whether  he  ought  to  call 
the  captain.  Having  meditated  some  time,  he 
concluded  that  the  weather  was  no  worse,  although 
it  had  treated  him  very  roughly,  so  he  did  not 
disturb  the  captain's  repose. 

Thus  the  storm  raged  all  that  night.  It  tossed 
the  Hope  about  like  a  cork;  it  well-nigh  blew 
the  sails  off  the  masts,  and  almost  blew  Mr.  Dicey  s 
head  ofi"  his  shoulders ;  then  it  stopped  as  it  had 
begun — suddenly. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


19 


CHAPTER   III. 

IN  THE  ICE DANGERS  OF  ARCTIC  VOYAGING. 

NEXT  morning  the  Hope  was  becalmed  in  the 
midst  of  a  scene  more  beautiful  than  the 
tongue  or  the  pen  of  man  can  describe. 

When  the  sun  rose  that  day,  it  shone  upon 
■what  appeared  to  be  a  tield  of  glass  and  a  city  of 
crystal.  Every  trace  of  the  recent  storm  was  gone 
except  a  long  swell,  which  caused  the  brig  to  roll 
considerably,  but  which  did  not  break  the  surface 
of  the  sea. 

Ice  was  to  be  seen  all  round  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  Ice  in  every  form  and  size  imagin- 
able. And  the  wonderful  thing  about  it  was  that 
many  of  the  masses  resembled  the  buildings  of  a 
city.  There  were  houses,  and  churches,  and 
monuments,  and  spires,  and  ruins.  There  were 
also  islands  and  mountains  !  Some  of  the  pieces 
were  low  and  flat,  no  bigger  than  a  boat  ;  others 
were  tall,  with  jagged  tops  ;  some  of  the  fields, 
as  they  are  called,  were  a  mile  and  more  in  extent, 
and  there  were  a  number  of  bergs,  or  ice-moun- 


L- 


20  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

tains,  higher  than  the  brig's  topmasts.  These 
last  were  ahnost  white,  but  they  had,  in  many 
places,  a  greenish-blue  colour  that  was  soft  and 
beautiful.  The  whole  scene  shone  and  sparkled 
BO  brilliantly  in  the  morning  sun,  that  one  could 
almost  fancy  it  was  one  of  the  regions  of  fairy- 
land ! 

When  young  Gregory  came  on  the  quarter-deck, 
no  one  was  there  except  Jim  Croft,  a  short,  thick- 
set man,  with  the  legs  of  a  dwarf  and  the  shoul- 
ders of  a  giant.  He  stood  at  the  helm,  and 
although  no  steering  was  required  as  there  was  no 
wind,  he  kept  his  hands  on  the  spokes  of  the 
wheel,  and  glanced  occasionally  at  the  compass. 
The  first  mate,  who  had  the  watch  on  deck,  was 
up  at  the  masthead  observing  the  state  of  the 
ice. 

"  How  glorious  !"  exclaimed  the  youth,  as  he 
swept  his  sparkling  eye  round  the  horizon.  "  Ah ! 
Croft,  is  not  this  splendid  1 " 

"  So  it  is,  sir,"  said  the  seaman,  turning  the 
large  quid  of  tobacco  that  bulged  out  his  left 
cheek.  "  It's  very  beautiful,  no  doubt,  but  it's 
comiu'  rather  thick  for  my  taste." 

"  How  so  ]"  inquired  Gregory.  "  There  seems 
to  me  plenty  of  open  water  to  enable  us  to  steer 
clear  of  these  masses.  Besides,  as  we  have  no 
wind  it  matters  little,  I  should  think,  whether  we 
have  room  to  sail  or  not." 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  21 

"  You've  not  seed  much  o'  the  ice  yet,  that's 
plain,"  said  Croft,  "  else  you'd  know  that  the 
floes  are  closin'  round  us,  an'  we'll  soon  be  fast  in 
the  pack,  if  a  breeze  don't  spring  up  to  help  us." 

As  the  reader  may  not,  perhaps,  understand 
tlie  terms  used  by  Arctic  voyagers  in  regard  to  the 
ice  in  its  various  forms,  it  may  be  as  well  here  to 
explain  the  meaning  of  those  most  commonly  used. 

When  ice  is  seen  floating  in  small  detached 
pieces  and  scattered  masses,  it  is  called  "  floe" 
ice,  and  men  speak  of  getting  among  the  floes. 
When  these  floes  close  up,  so  that  the  whole  sea 
seems  to  be  covered  with  them,  and  little  water 
can  be  seen,  it  is  called  "  pack"  ice.  When  the 
pack  is  squeezed  together,  so  that  lumps  of  it  are 
forced  up  in  the  form  of  rugged  mounds,  these 
mounds  are  called  "  hummocks."  A  large  mass  of 
flat  ice,  varying  from  one  mUe  to  many  miles  in 
extent,  is  called  a  "  field,"  and  a  mountain  of  ice 
is  called  a  "  berg." 

All  the  ice  here  spoken  of,  except  the  berg,  is 
sea-ice  ;  formed  by  the  freezing  of  the  ocean  in 
winter.  The  berg  is  formed  in  a  very  difi'erent 
manner.  Of  this  more  shall  be  said  in  a  future 
chapter. 

"  Well,  my  lad,"  said  Gregory,  in  reply  to  Jim 
Croft's  last  observation,  "  I  have  not  seen  much 
of  the  ice  yet,  as  you  truly  remark,  so  I  hope 
that  the  wind  will  not  come  to  help  us  out  of  it 

K 


22  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

for  some  time.  You  don't  think  it  dangerous  to 
get  into  the  pack,  do  you  ?" 

"  Well,  not  exactly  dangerous,  sir,"  replied 
Croft,  "  but  I  must  say  that  it  aint  safe,  'spe- 
cially when  there's  a  swell  on  like  this.  But 
that'll  go  down  soon.  D'ye  know  what  a  nip  is, 
Doctor  Gregory  1 " 

"  I  think  I  do,  at  least  I  have  read  of  such  a 
thing.  But  I  should  be  very  glad  to  hear  what 
you  have  to  say  about  it.  No  doubt  you  have 
felt  one." 

"  Felt  one  !"  cried  Jim,  screwing  up  his  face, 
and  drawing  his  limbs  together,  as  if  he  were 
suffering  horrible  pain,  "  no,  I've  never  felt 
one.  The  man  what  feels  a  nip  aint  likely  to 
live  to  tell  what  his  feelin's  was,  but  I've  seed 
one." 

"  You've  seen  one,  have  you  1  That  must  have 
been  interesting.     Where  was  it  ?" 

"  Not  very  far  from  the  Greenland  coast,"  said 
Croft,  giving  his  quid  another  turn.  "  This  was 
the  way  of  it.  You  must  know  that  there  was 
two  ships  of  us  in  company  at  the  time.  Whalers 
we  was.  We  got  into  the  heart  of  the  pack  some- 
how, and  we  thought  we'd  never  get  out  of  it 
again.  There  was  nothin'  but  ice  all  round  us  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  see.  The  name  of  our  ship 
was  the  '  Nancy.'  Our  comrade  was  the  *  Bull- 
finch.'    One  mornin'  early  we  heard  a  loud  noise 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  23 

of  ice  rubbin'  agin  the  sides  o'  the  ship,  so  we  all 
jumped  up,  an'  on  deck  as  fast  as  we  could,  for 
there's  short  time  given  to  save  ourselves  in  them 
seas  sometimes.  The  whole  pack,  we  found,  was 
in  motion,  and  a  wide  lead  of  water  opened  up 
before  us,  for  all  the  world  like  a  smooth  river 
or  canal  windin'  through  the  pack.  Into  this  we 
warped  the  ship,  and,  hoistin'  sail,  steered  away 
cheerily.  We  passed  close  to  the  '  Bullfinch,' 
which  was  still  hard  and  fast  in  the  pack,  and  we 
saw  that  her  crew  were  sawin'  and  cuttin'  away 
at  the  ice,  tryin'  to  get  into  the  lead  that  we'd 
got  into.  So  we  hailed  them,  and  said  we  would 
wait  for  'em  outside  the  pack,  if  we  got  through. 
But  the  words  were  no  sooner  spoken,  when  the 
wind  it  died  away,  and  we  were  becalmed  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  '  Bullfinch.' 

"  '  You'd  better  go  down  to  breakfast,  boys,' 
says  our  captain,  says  he,  '  the  breeze  won't  be 
long  o'  comin'  again.' 

"  So  down  the  men  went,  and  soon  after  that 
the  steward  comes  on  deck,  and,  says  he  to  the 
captain,  '  breakfast,  sir.'  *  Very  good,'  says  the 
captain,  and  down  he  went  too,  leavin'  me  at 
the  wheel,  and  the  mate  in  charge  of  the  deck. 
He'd  not  been  gone  three  minutes,  when  I  noticed 
that  the  great  field  of  ice  on  our  right  was 
closin'  in  on  the  field  on  our  left,  and  the  channel 
we  was   floatin'   in  was   closin'   up.       The  mate 


24 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


noticed  it  too,  but  lie  wouldn't  call  the  captain, 
'cause  the  ice  came  so  slowly  and  quietly  on  that 
for  a  few  minutes  we  could  hardly  believe  it  was 
movin',  and  everything  round  us  looked  so  calm 
and  peaceful  like  that  it  was  difficult  to  believe 
our  danger  was  so  great.  But  this  was  only  a 
momentary  feelin',  d'ye  see.  A  minute  after  that 
the  mate  he  cries  down  to  the  captain — 

"  '  Ice  closin'  up,  sir  !' 

"  And  the  captain  he  runs  on  deck.  By  this 
time  there  was  no  mistake  about  it ;  the  ice  was 
close  upon  us.  It  was  clear  that  we  were  to  have  a 
nip.  So  the  captain  roars  down  the  hatchway, 
'  Tumble  up  there  !  tumble  up  !  every  man  alive  ! 
for  your  lives  !'  And  sure  enough  they  did  tumble 
up,  as  I  never  seed  'em  do  it  before — two  or  three 
of  'em  was  sick  ;  they  came  up  with  their  clothes 
in  their  hands.  The  ice  was  now  almost  touchin' 
our  sides,  and  I  tell  you,  sir,  I  never  did  feel  so 
queerish  in  all  my  life  before  as  when  I  looked 
over  the  side  at  the  edge  of  that  great  field  of  ice 
which  rose  three  foot  out  o'  the  water,  and  was  I 
suppose  six  foot  more  below  the  surface.  It  came 
on  so  slow  that  we  could  hardly  see  the  motion. 
Inch  by  inch  the  water  narrowed  between  it  and 
our  sides.  At  last  it  touched  on  the  left  side  and 
that  shoved  us  quicker  on  to  the  field  on  our  right. 
Every  eye  was  fixed  on  it — every  man  held  his 
breath.     You  might  have  heard  a  pin  fall  on  the 


I 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  25 

deck.  It  touched  gently  at  first,  then  there  was 
a  low  grindin'  and  crunchin'  sound.  The  ship 
trembled  as  if  it  had  been  a  livin'  creetur,  and  the 
beams  began  to  crack.  Now,  you  must  know,  sir, 
that  when  a  nip  o'  this  sort  takes  a  ship  the  ice 
usually  eases  oft",  after  givin'  her  a  good  squeeze, 
or  when  the  pressure  is  too  much  for  her,  the  ice 
slips  under  her  bottom  and  lifts  her  right  out  o' 
the  water.  But  our  Nancy  was  what  we  call  wall- 
sided.  She  was  never  fit  to  sail  in  them  seas. 
The  consequence  was  that  the  ice  crushed  her  sides 
in.  The  moment  the  cai^tain  heard  tlie  beams 
begin  to  go,  he  knew  it  was  all  up  with  the  ship, 
so  he  roared  to  take  to  the  ice  for  our  lives  !  You 
may  be  sure  we  took  his  advice.  Over  the  side 
we  went  every  man  Jack  of  us,  and  got  on  the  ice. 
We  did  not  take  time  to  save  an  article  belongin' 
to  us  ;  and  it  was  as  well  we  did  not,  for  the 
ice  closed  up  with  a  crash,  and  we  heard  the  beams 
and  timbers  rending  like  a  fire  of  musketry  in  the 
hold.  Her  bottom  must  have  been  cut  clean  away, 
for  she  stood  on  the  ice  just  as  she  had  floated 
on  the  sea.  Then  the  noise  stopped,  the  ice  eased 
off,  and  the  ship  began  to  settle.  The  lead  of 
water  opened  up  again  ;  in  ten  minutes  after  that 
the  '  Nancy'  went  to  the  bottom  and  left  us 
standin'  there  on  tlie  ice. 

"  It  was  the  mercy  of  God  that  let  it  happen  so 
near  the   '  Bullfinch.'     We  might  have  been  out 


2G 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


o'  sight  o'  that  ship  at  the  time,  and  then  every 
man  of  us  would  have  bin  lost.  As  it  was,  we 
had  a  hard  scramble  over  a  good  deal  of  loose  ice, 
jumpin'  from  lump  to  lump,  and  some  of  us  fallin' 
into  the  water  several  times,  before  we  got  aboard. 
Now  that  was  a  bad  nip,  sir,  warn't  it  V 

"  It  certainly  was,"  replied  Gregory  ;  "  and  al- 
though I  deUght  in  being  amongst  the  ice,  I  sin- 
cerely hope  that  our  tight  little  brig  may  not  be 
tried  in  the  same  way.  But  she  is  better  able  to 
stand  it,  I  should  think." 

"  That  she  is,  »ir,"  replied  Croft  with  much 
confidence,  "  I  seed  her  in  dock,  sir,  when  they 
was  a-puttin'  of  extra  timbers  on  the  bow,  and  I 
do  believe  she  would  stand  twice  as  much  bad 
usage  as  the  '  Nancy'  got,  though  she  is  only 
half  the  size." 

Jim  Croft's  opinion  on  this  point  was  well 
founded,  for  the  Hope  had  indeed  been  strength- 
ened and  prepared  for  her  ice  battles  with  the 
greatest  care,  by  men  of  experience  and  ability. 
As  some  readers  may  be  interested  in  this  subject, 
I  shall  give  a  brief  account  of  the  additions  that 
were  made  to  her  hull. 

The  vessel  was  nearly  200  tons  burden.  She 
had  originally  been  built  very  strongly,  and  might 
even  have  ventured  on  a  voyage  to  the  Polar  seas 
just  as  she  was.  But  Captain  Harvey  resolved  to 
take  every  precaution  to  insure  the  success  of  his 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE,  27 

voyage,  and  the  safety  and  comfort  of  his  men. 
He  therefore  had  the  whole  of  the  ship's  bottom 
sheathed  with  thick  hardwood  planking,  which  was 
carried  up  above  her  water-line,  as  high  as  the 
ordinary  floe-ice  would  be  likely  to  reach.  The 
hiJl  inside  was  strengthened  with  stout  cross-beams, 
as  well  as  with  beams  running  along  the  length  of 
the  vessel,  and  in  every  part  that  was  likely  to  be 
subjected  to  pressure  iron  stanchions  were  fas- 
tened. But  the  bow  of  the  vessel  was  the  point 
where  the  utmost  strength  was  aimed  at.  Inside, 
just  behind  the  cutwater,  the  whole  space  was  so 
traversed  by  cross-beams  of  oak  that  it  almost  be- 
came a  solid  mass,  and  outside  the  sharp  stem  was 
cased  in  iron  so  as  to  resemble  a  giant's  chisel. 
The  false  keel  was  taken  off,  and  the  whole  vessel, 
in  short,  was  rendered  as  strong,  outside  and  in, 
as  wood  and  iron  and  skill  could  make  her.  It 
need  scarcely  be  said  that  all  the  other  arrange- 
ments about  her  were  made  with  the  greatest  care 
and  without  regard  to  expense,  for  although  the 
owners  of  the  brig  did  not  wish  to  waste  their 
money,  they  set  too  high  a  value  on  human  life  to 
risk  it  for  the  sake  of  saving  a  few  pounds.  She 
was  provisioned  for  a  cruise  of  two  years  and  a 
half.  But  this  was  in  case  of  accidents,  for  Cap- 
tain Harvey  did  not  intend  to  be  absent  much 
longer  than  one  year. 

But,  to  return  to  our  story — 


28  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

Jim  Croft's  fear  that  they  would  be  set  fast  was 
realized  sooner  than  he  expected.  The  floes  began 
to  close  in,  from  no  cause  that  could  be  seen,  for 
the  wind  was  quite  still,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
loose  ice  pressed  against  the  Hope  on  all  sides. 
It  seemed  to  young  Gregory  as  if  the  story  that 
the  seaman  had  just  related  was  about  to  be 
enacted  over  again  ;  and,  being  a  stranger  to  ice, 
he  could  not  help  feeling  a  little  uneasy  for  some 
time.  But  there  was  in  reality  little  or  no  danger, 
for  the  pressure  was  light,  and  the  brig  had  got 
into  a  small  bay  in  the  edge  of  an  ice-field  which 
lay  in  the  midst  of  the  smaller  masses. 

Seeing  that  there  was  little  prospect  of  the 
pack  opening  up  just  then,  the  captain  ordered  the 
ice-anchors  to  be  got  out  and  fixed. 

The  appearance  of  the  sea  from  the  brig's  deck 
was  now  extremely  wintry,  but  very  bright  and 
cheerful.  Not  a  spot  of  blue  water  was  to  be 
seen  in  any  direction.  The  whole  ocean  appeared 
as  if  it  had  been  frozen  over. 

It  was  now  past  noon,  and  the  sun's  rays  were 
warm,  although  the  quantity  of  ice  around  ren- 
dered the  air  cold.  As  the  men  were  returning 
from  fixing  the  anchors,  the  captain  looked  over 
the  side  and  said  : — 

"  It's  not  likely  that  we  shall  move  out  of  this 
for  some  hours.  "Wliat  say  you,  lads,  to  a  game 
at  football  f ' 


I 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


29 


The  proposal  was  received  with  a  loud  cheer. 
The  ball  had  been  prepared  by  the  sail-maker,  in 
expectation  of  some  such  opportunity  as  this.  It 
was  at  once  tossed  over  the  side  ;  those  men  who  . 
were  not  already  on  the  field  scrambled  out  of  the 
brig,  and  the  entire  crew  went  leaping  and  yelling 
over  the  ice  with  the  wild  delight  of  school  boys 
let  loose  for  an  unexpected  holiday. 

They  were  in  the  middle  of  the  game  when  a 
loud  shout  came  from  the  brig,  and  the  captain's 
voice  was  heard  singing  out — 

"  All  hands  ahoy !  come  aboard.    Look  alive  ! " 

Instantly  the  men  turned,  and  there  was  a 
general  race  towards  the  brig,  which  lay  nearly 
quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  them. 

In  summer,  changes  in  the  motions  of  the  ice 
take  place  in  the  most  unexpected  manner.  Cur- 
rents in  the  ocean  are,  no  doubt,  the  chief  cause  of 
these  ;  the  action  of  winds  has  also  something  to 
do  with  them.  One  of  these  changes  was  now 
taking  place.  Almost  before  the  men  got  on  board 
the  ice  had  separated,  and  long  canals  of  water 
were  seen  opening  up  here  and  there.  Soon  after 
that  a  light  breeze  sprang  up,  the  ice-anchors  were 
taken  aboard,  the  sails  trimmed,  and  soon  the 
Hope  was  again  making  her  way  slowly  but 
steadily  to  the  north. 


30  FAST  IN  THE  IGR. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DIFFICULTIES,   TROUBLES,  AKD  DANGERS. 

FOR  some  hours  the  brig  proceeded  onward  with 
a  freshening  breeze,  winding  and  turning  in 
order  to  avoid  the  lumps  of  ice.  Many  of  the 
Bmaller  pieces  were  not  worth  turning  out  of  the 
way  of,  the  mere  weight  of  the  vessel  being  suflS- 
cient  to  push  them  aside. 

Up  to  this  time  they  had  succeeded  in  steering 
clear  of  everything  without  getting  a  thump  ; 
but  they  got  one  at  last,  which  astonished  those 
among  the  crew  who  had  not  been  in  the  ice 
before.  The  captain,  Gregory,  and  Dicey  were 
seated  in  the  cabin  at  the  time  taking  tea.  Ned 
Dawkins  the  steward,  an  active  little  man,  was 
bringing  in  a  tea-pot  with  a  second  supply  of  tea. 
In  his  left  hand  he  carried  a  tray  of  biscuit.  The 
captain  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  Dicey  at  the 
foot,  and  the  doctor  at  the  side. 

Suddenly  a  tremendous  shock  was  felt !  The 
captain's  cup  of  tea  leaped  away  from  him  and 
Hooded  the  centre  of  the  table.     The  doctor's  cujj 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  3\ 

was  empty  ;  he  seized  the  table  with  both  hands 
and  remained  steady  ;  but  Dicey's  cup  happened  to 
be  at  his  lips  at  the  moment,  and  was  quite  full. 
The  effect  on  him  was  unfortunate.  He  was 
thrown  violently  on  his  back,  and  the  tea  poured 
over  his  face  and  drenched  his  hair  as  he  lay 
sprawling  on  the  floor.  The  steward  saved  him- 
self by  dropping  the  bread-tray  and  grasping  the 
handle  of  the  cabin  door.  So  violent  was  the 
shock  that  the  ship's  bell  was  set  a-ringing. 

"  Beg  pardon,  gentlemen,"  cried  the  first  mate 
looking  down  the  sky-light.  "  I  forgot  to  warn 
you.  The  ice  is  getting  rather  thick  round  us,  and 
I  had  to  charge  a  lump  of  it." 

"  It's  all  very  well  to  beg  pardon,"  said  the 
captain,  "  but  that  won't  mend  my  crockery  ! " 

"  Or  dry  my  head,"  growled  ]\Ir.  Dicey,  "  it's 
as  bad  as  if  I'd  been  dipt  overboard,  it  is." 

Before  Mr.  Dicey's  grumbling  remarks  were 
finished  all  three  of  them  had  reached  the  deck. 
The  wind  had  freshened  considerably,  and  the 
brig  was  rushing  in  a  somewhat  alarming  manner 
among  the  floes.  It  required  the  most  careful 
attention  to  prevent  her  striking  heavily. 

"  If  it  goes  on  like  this  we  sliall  have  to  reduce 
sail,"  observed  the  captain.  "  See,  there  is  a  neck 
of  ice  ahead  that  will  stop  us." 

This  seemed  to  be  probable,  for  the  lane  of  water 
along  which  they  were  steering  was,  just  ahead  of 


32  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

them,  stopped  by  a  neck  of  ice  that  connected  two 
floe-pieces.  The  water  beyond  was  pretty  free 
from  ice,  but  this  neck  or  mass  seemed  so  thick 
that  it  became  a  question  whether  they  should 
venture  to  charge  it  or  shorten  sail. 

"  Stand  by  the  fore  and  main-topsail  braces  ! " 
shouted  the  captain, 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  Now,  Mr.  Manseil,"  said  he,  with  a  smile,  "  we 
have  come  to  our  first  real  difficulty.  What  do 
you  advise  ;  shall  we  back  the  topsails,  or  try  what 
our  little  'Hope'  is  made  of,  and  charge  the 
enemy  1 " 

"  Charge  !"  answered  the  mate. 

"  Just  so,"  said  the  captain,  hastening  to  the 
bow  to  direct  the  steersman.     "  Port  your  helm." 

«  Steady." 

The  brig  was  now  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
neck  of  ice,  tearing  through  the  water  like  a  race- 
horse. In  another  moment  she  was  up  to  it  and 
struck  it  fair  in  the  middle.  The  stout  little 
vessel  quivered  to  her  keel  under  the  shock,  but 
she  did  not  recoil.  She  split  the  mass  into  frag- 
ments, and,  bearing  down  all  before  her,  sailed  like 
a  conqueror  into  the  clear  water  beyond. 

"  Well  done  the  '  Hope  !'  "  said  the  captain,  as 
he  walked  aft,  while  a  cheer  burst  from  the  men. 

"  I  think  she  ought  to  be  called  the  '  Good 
Hope '  ever  after  this,"  said  Tom  Gregory.     "  If 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  33 

she  cuts  her  way  through  everything  as  easily  as 
she  has  cut  through  that  neck  of  ice,  we  shall 
reach  the  North  Pole  itself  before  winter." 

" If  we  reach  the  North  Pole  at  all"  observed 
Mr.  Dicey,  "  I'll  climb  up  to  the  top  of  it,  and 
stand  on  my  head,  I  will  !" 

The  second  mate  evidently  had  no  expectation 
of  reaching  that  mysterious  pole,  which  men  have 
so  long  and  so  often  tried  to  find,  in  vain. 

"  Heavy  ice  ahead,  sir,"  shouted  Mr.  Mansell, 
who  was  at  the  mast-head  with  a  telescope. 

"Where  away?" 

"  On  the  weather  bow,  sir,  the  pack  seems  open 
enough  to  push  through,  but  the  large  bergs  are 
numerous." 

The  Hope  was  now  indeed  getting  into  the 
heart  of  those  icy  regions  where  ships  are  in  con- 
stant danger  from  the  floating  masses  that  come 
down  with  the  ocean-currents  from  the  far  north. 
In  sailing  along  she  was  often  obliged  to  run 
with  great  violence  against  lumps  so  large  that 
they  caused  her  whole  frame  to  tremble,  stout 
though  it  was.  "  Shall  we  smash  the  lump,  or 
will  it  stave  in  our  bows?"  was  a  question  that 
frequently  ran  in  the  captain's  mind.  Sometimes 
ice  closed  round  her  and  squeezed  her  sides  so 
that  her  beams  cracked.  At  other  times,  when  a 
large  field  was  holding  her  fast,  the  smaller  pieces 
would  grind  and  rasp  against  her  as  they  went 


34  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

past,  until  the  crew  fancied  the  whole  of  the  outer 
sheathing  of  planks  had  been  scraped  off.  Often 
she  had  to  press  close  to  ice-bergs  of  great  size, 
and  more  than  once  a  lump  as  large  as  a  good- 
sized  house  fell  off  the  ice-cliffs  and  plunged  into 
the  sea  close  to  her  side,  causing  her  to  rock  vio- 
lently on  the  waves  that  were  raised  by  it. 

Indeed  the  bergs  are  dangerous  neighbours,  not 
only  from  this  cause,  but  also  on  account  of  their 
turning  upside  down  at  times,  and  even  falling 
to  pieces,  so  that  Captain  Harvey  always  kept 
well  out  of  their  way  when  he  could  ;  but  this 
was  not  always  possible.  The  little  brig  had  a 
narrow  escape  one  day  from  the  falling  of  a 
berg. 

It  was  a  short  time  after  that  day  on  which 
they  had  the  game  at  footbidl.  They  passed  in 
safety  through  the  fioes  and  bergs  that  had  been 
seen  that  evening,  and  got  into  open  water  beyond, 
where  they  made  good  progress  before  again  fall- 
ing in  with  ice  ;  but  at  last  they  came  to  a 
part  of  Baffin's  Bay  where  a  great  deal  of  ice  is 
always  found.  Here  the  pack  surrounded  them, 
and  compelled  them  to  pass  close  to  a  berg  which 
was  the  largest  they  had  fallen  in  with  up  to  that 
time.  It  was  jagged  in  form,  and  high  rather 
than  broad.  Great  peaks  rose  up  from  it  like 
the  mountain  tops  of  some  wild  highland  region. 
It  was  several   hundred  yards  off  the  weather- 


II 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  35 

beam  when  the  brig  passed,  but  it  towered  so  high 
over  the  masts  that  it  seemed  to  be  much  nearer 
than  it  was.  There  was  no  apparent  motion  in 
this  berg,  and  the  waves  beat  and  rolled  upon  its 
base  just  as  they  do  on  the  shore  of  an  island. 
In  fact  it  was  as  like  an  island  as  possible,  or, 
rather,  like  a  mountain  i)lanted  in  the  sea,  only 
it  was  white  instead  of  green.  There  were 
cracks  and  rents  and  caverns  in  it,  just  as  there 
are  on  a  rugged  mountain  side,  all  of  which  were 
of  a  beautiful  blue  colour.  There  were  also  slopes 
and  crags  and  precipices,  down  which  the  water 
of  the  melted  ice  constantly  flowed  in  wild  tor- 
rents. Many  of  these  were  equal  to  small  rivulets, 
and  some  of  the  waterfalls  were  beautiful.  The 
berg  could  not  have  measured  less  than  a  mile 
round  the  base,  and  it  was  probably  two  hundred 
feet  high.  It  is  well  known  that  floating  ice 
sinks  deep,  and  that  there  is  about  eight  or  ten 
times  as  much  of  it  below  as  there  is  above  water. 
The  reader  may  therefore  form  some  idea  of  what 
an  enormous  mass  of  ice  this  berg  was. 

The  crew  of  the  Hope  observed,  in  passing, 
that  lumps  were  continually  falling  from  the  clifis 
into  the  sea.  The  berg  was  evidently  in  a  very 
rotten  and  dangerous  state,  and  the  captain  ran 
the  brig  as  close  to  the  pack  on  the  other  side  as 
possible,  in  order  to  keep  out  of  its  way.  Just 
as  this  was  done,  some  great  rents  occurred  and 


36  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

suddenly  a  mass  of  ice  larger  than  the  brig  fell 
from  the  top  of  a  cliff  into  the  sea.  No  dan- 
ger flowed  from  this,  but  the  mass  thus  thrown  off 
was  so  large  as  to  destroy  the  balance  of  the  berg, 
and,  to  the  horror  of  the  sailors,  the  huge  moun- 
tain began  to  roll  over.  Fortunately  it  fell  in  a 
direction  away  from  the  brig.  Had  it  rolled  to- 
wards her,  no  human  power  could  have  saved  our 
voyagers.  The  mighty  mass  went  over  with  a 
wild  hollow  roar,  and  new  peaks  and  clifis  rose 
out  of  the  sea,  as  the  old  ones  disappeared,  with 
great  cataracts  of  uplifted  brine  pouring  furiously 
down  their  sides. 

Apart  from  its  danger  this  was  an  awful  sight. 
Those  who  witnessed  it  could  only  gaze  in  solemn 
silence.  Even  the  most  careless  among  them  must 
have  been  forced  to  recognise  the  might  and 
majesty  of  God  in  the  event,  as  well  as  His  mercy 
in  having  led  them  to  the  right  side  of  the  berg 
at  such  a  dangerous  moment. 

But  the  scene  had  not  yet  closed.  For  some 
time  the  ice  mountain  rocked  grandly  to  and  fro, 
raising  a  considerable  swell  on  the  sea,  which,  all 
round,  was  covered  with  the  foam  caused  by  this 
tremendous  commotion.  In  a  few  minutes  several 
rents  took  place  sounding  like  the  reports  of  great 
guns.  Rotten  as  it  was,  the  berg  could  not  stand 
the  shock  of  its  change  of  position — for  it  had 
turned  fairly  upside  down.      Crack  after  crack 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  37 

took  place,  with  deafening  reports.  Lumps  of  all 
sizes  fell  from  its  sides.  Then  there  was  a  roar, 
long  continued  like  thunder  ;  a  moment  after,  the 
whole  berg  sank  down  in  ruins,  and,  with  a  mighty 
crash,  fell  flat  upon  the  sea  ! 

The  Hope  was  beyond  the  reach  of  danger,  but 
she  rose  and  sank  on  the  swell  caused  by  the  ruin 
of  this  berg  for  some  time  after. 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  that 
the  brig  received  her  first  really  severe  "nip" 
from  the  ice. 

She  had  got  deep  into  the  pack,  and  was 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  large  bergs,  some  of 
these  being  high,  like  the  one  that  has  just  been 
described,  others  low  and  flat  but  of  great  extent. 
One,  not  far  off",  was  two  miles  long,  and  its  glit- 
tering walls  rose  about  fifteen  feet  above  the  sea. 
The  sky  was  brighter  than  usual  at  the  time. 
This  was  owing  to  one  of  those  strange  appear- 
ances which  one  sees  more  of  in  the  Arctic  regions 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  sun 
shone  with  unclouded  splendour,  and  around  it 
there  were  three  mock  suns  almost  as  bright  as 
the  sun  itself,  one  on  each  side  and  one  directly 
above  it.  Learned  men  call  these  bright  spots 
parhelia.  Sailors  call  them  sun-dogs.  They  were 
connected  together  with  a  ring  of  light  which  en- 
tirely encircled  the  sun,  but  the  lower  edge  of  it 
was  partly  lost  on  the  horizon. 

L 


38  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

Although  this  was  the  first  time  that  these  mock 
SUDS  had  been  seen  by  Gregory  and  some  others 
of  the  crew  of  the  Hope,  little  attention  was 
paid  to  them  at  the  time,  because  of  the  danger- 
ous position  into  which  the  brig  had  been  forced. 
The  pack  had  again  closed  all  round  her,  obliging 
her  to  take  shelter  in  the  lee  of  a  small  berg, 
which,  from  its  shape,  did  not  seem  likely  to  be  a 
dangerous  protector. 

There  was  a  small  bay  in  the  berg.  Into  this 
the  brig  was  warped,  and  for  some  time  she  lay 
safely  here.  It  was  just  large  enough  to  hold 
her,  and  a  long  tongue  of  ice,  projecting  from  the 
foot  of  it,  kept  off  the  pressure  of  the  sea-ice. 
Nevertheless  a  look  of  anxiety  rested  on  the  cap- 
tain's face  after  the  ice-anchors  had  been  made 
fast. 

"  You  don't  seem  to  like  our  position,  captain," 
said  young  Gregory,  who  had  been  watching  the 
doings  of  the  men,  and  now  and  then  lent  them  a 
hand. 

"  I  don't,  Tom.  The  pack  is  closing  tight  up, 
and  this  berg  may  prove  an  enemy  instead  of  a 
friend,  if  it  forces  into  our  harbour  here.  Let  us 
hear  what  our  mate  thinks  of  it.  What  say  you, 
Mr.  Mansell,  shall  we  hold  on  here,  or  warp  out, 
and  take  our  chance  in  the  pack  ?" 

«  Better  hold  on,  sir,"  answered  the  mate, 
gravely.      "  The  pack  is  beginning  to  grind,  we 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  39 

Bhould  get  a  tight  embrace,  I  fear,  if  we  went  out. 
Here  we  may  do  well  enough  ;  but  everything 
depends  on  that  tongue." 

He  looked  as  he  spoke  towards  the  point  of  ice 
which  extended  in  front  of  the  brig's  stern  and 
gixarded  the  harbour  from  the  outer  ice  in  that 
direction.  The  tongue  was  not  a  large  one,  and 
it  was  doubtful  whether  it  could  stand  the  pres- 
sure that  was  increasing  every  minute. 

The  pack  was  indeed  beginning  to  "  grind,"  as 
the  mate  had  said,  for,  while  they  were  looking  at 
it,  the  edges  of  two  floes  came  together  with  a 
crash  about  fifty  yards  from  the  berg.  They 
ground  together  for  a  moment  with  a  harsli 
growling  sound,  and  then  the  two  edges  were 
suddenly  forced  up  to  a  height  of  about  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet.  Next  moment  they  fell  on  the 
closed-up  ice  and  lay  there  in  a  mound,  or  hum- 
moch,  of  broken  masses. 

"  That's  how  a  'ummock  is  formed.  Doctor 
Gregory,"  said  Mr.  Dicey,  looking  uncommonly 
wise.  "  You'll  see  more  things  here  in  five 
minutes,  by  means  of  your  own  eyes,  than  ye 
could  learn  from  books  in  a  year.  There's  nothin' 
like  seein'.  Seein'  is  believin',  you  know.  I 
wouldn't  give  an  ounce  of  experience  for  a  ton  of 
hearsay." 

"  Come,  Mr.  Dicey,  don't  nm  down  book- 
learning,"  said  Gregory.      "  If  a  man  only  knew 


40  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

about  things  that  he  had  seen,  he  would  know 
very  little." 

Before  the  second  mate  could  reply  the  captain 
shouted  to  the  men  to  "  Bear  a  hand  with  the  ice- 
poles."  The  whole  crew  answered  to  the  call,  and 
each  man,  seizing  a  long  pole,  stood  ready  for 
action. 

The  tongue  to  which  I  have  referred  more  than 
once  had  broken  oflF,  and  the  ice  was  rushing  in. 
The  bay  was  fuU  in  a  minute,  and  although  the 
men  used  their  ice-poles  actively  and  worked  with 
a  will,  they  could  not  shove  the  pieces  past  them. 
The  Hope  was  driven  bow  on  to  the  berg.  Then 
there  was  a  strain,  a  terrible  creaking  and  groaning 
of  the  timbers,  as  if  the  good  little  vessel  were 
complaining  of  the  pressure.  All  at  once  there  was 
a  loud  crack,  the  bow  of  the  brig  lifted  a  little, 
and  she  was  forced  violently  up  the  sloping  side  of 
the  berg.  Twice  this  happened,  and  then  she 
remained  stationary — high  and  dry  out  of  the 
water  ! 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  41 


CHAPTER  V. 

A.  GALE NARROW  ESCAPES SIGNS  OF  WINTER — 

SET  FAST. 

DURING  the  rest  of  that  day  and  the  whole 
of  that  night  did  the  brig  remain  fixed  on 
the  berg.  Early  next  morning  the  ice  began  to 
move.  It  eased  off,  and  the  vessel  slid  gently 
down  the  slope  on  which  she  had  been  forced  and 
was  re-laimched  safely  into  the  water. 

The  satisfaction  of  the  crew,  on  being  thus  de- 
livered from  a  position  of  much  danger,  was  very 
great  ;  but  they  had  no  sooner  escaped  from  one 
peril  than  they  were  overtaken  by  another.  A 
sharp  breeze  sprang  up  from  the  eastward,  and 
drove  them  out  into  the  pack,  which  began  to 
heave  about  in  a  terrible  manner  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  wind.  Soon  this  increased  to  a  gale, 
and  the  ice  was  driven  along  at  great  speed  by  a 
strong  northerly  current. 

While  this  was  going  on,  land  was  discovered 
bearing  to  the  north-east.  Here  was  new  danger, 
for  altl-.ough  it  was  not  a  lee-shore,  still  there 


42  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

was  some  risk  of  the  vessel  being  caught  among 
grounded  icebergs — of  which  a  few  were  seen. 

The  gale  increased  to  such  a  degree  before  night 
that  Captain  Harvey  began  to  think  of  taking 
shelter  under  the  lee  of  one  of  these  bergs.  He 
therefore  stood  towards  one,  but  before  reaching 
it  the  vessel  received  one  or  two  severe  shocks 
from  the  passing  floes.  A  large  berg  lay  within 
half  a  mile  of  them.  Tlicy  reached  it  in  safety, 
and  getting  under  its  lee,  lowered  a  boat  and 
fixed  their  ice-anchors.  Just  after  they  were  fixed, 
a  mass  of  ice,  the  size  of  a  ship's  long-boat,  and 
many  tons  in  weight,  came  suddenly  up  out  of  the 
sea  with  great  violence,  the  top  of  it  rising  above 
the  bulwarks.  One  corner  of  it  struck  the  hull 
just  behind  the  mainmast,  and  nearly  stove  in  the 
bottom  of  the  brig. 

This  lump  was  what  Arctic  voyagers  term  a 
"  calf"  When  masses  of  ice  break  off  from  the 
bergs  far  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  they  rise 
with  extreme  violence,  and  ships  run  great  risk  of 
being  destroyed  by  these  calves  when  they  anchor 
too  near  to  the  bergs.  Had  this  calf  struck  the 
Hope  a  fair  blow  she  must  certainly  have  gone 
down  with  all  on  board. 

They  were  not  yet  freed  from  their  troubles, 
however.  In  half  an  hour  the  wind  shifted  a  few 
points,  but  the  stream  of  the  loose  ice  did  not 
change.     The  brig  was  therefore  blown  right  iu 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  43 

amongst  the  rushiug  masses.  The  three  cables  that 
held  her  were  snapped  as  if  they  had  been  pieces 
of  pack-thread,  and  she  was  whirled  out  into  tlie 
pack,  where  she  drove  helplessly,  exposed  to  the 
fury  of  the  howling  storm  and  the  dangers  of  the 
grinding  ice.  Captain  Harvey  now  felt  that  he 
could  do  nothing  to  save  his  vessel.  He  believed 
that  if  God  did  not  mercifully  put  forth  His  hand 
to  deliver  them  by  a  miracle,  he  and  his  com- 
panions would  certainly  perish.  In  this  the  cap- 
tain was  wrong.  Nothing  is  impossible  to  the 
Almighty.  He  can  always  accomplish  His  pur- 
poses without  the  aid  of  a  miracle. 

There  did,  indeed,  seem  no  way  of  escape  ;  for 
the  driving  masses  of  ice  were  grinding  each  other 
to  powder  in  nearly  every  direction,  and  the  brig 
only  escaped  instant  destruction  by  being  wedged 
between  two  pieces  that  held  together  from  some 
.  unknown  cause.  Presently  they  were  carried  down 
towards  a  large  berg  that  seemed  to  be  aground, 
for  the  loose  ice  was  passing  it  swiftly.  This  was 
not  the  case,  however.  An  under-current,  far 
down  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  was  acting  on  this 
berg,  and  preventing  it  from  travelling  with  the 
ice  that  floated  with  the  stream  at  the  surface. 
In  it  passing,  the  mass  of  ice  that  held  them 
struck  one  of  the  projecting  tongues  beneath 
the  surface  and  was  split  in  two.  The  brig  was 
at  once  set   free.       As  they  passed  they  might 


44  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

almost  have  leaped  upon  the  berg.  Captain  Har- 
vey saw  and  seized  his  opportunity. 

"  Stand  by  to  heave  an  anchor,"  he  shouted. 

Sam  Baker,  being  the  strongest  man  in  the 
ship,  sprang  to  one  of  the  small  ice-anchors  that 
lay  on  the  deck  with  a  line  attached  to  it,  and 
lifting  it  with  both  hands  stood  ready. 

The  brig  passed  close  to  the  end  of  the  berg, 
where  the  lee-side  formed  a  long  tail  of  sheltered 
water.  She  was  almost  thrust  into  this  by  the 
piece  of  ice  from  which  she  had  just  escaped.  She 
grazed  the  edge  of  the  berg  as  she  drove  past. 

"  Heave  !"  shouted  the  captain. 

Sam  Baker  swung  the  anchor  round  his  head 
as  if  it  had  been  a  feather  and  hurled  it  far  upon 
the  ice.  For  a  few  yards  it  rattled  over  the  slip- 
pery surface ;  then  it  caught  a  lump,  but  the  first 
strain  broke  it  off.  Just  after  that  it  fell  into  a 
crack  and  held  on.  The  brig  was  checked,  and 
swung  round  into  the  smooth  water  ;  but  they 
had  to  ease  off  the  line  lest  it  should  snap.  At  last 
she  was  brought  up,  and  lay  safely  under  the  shelter 
of  that  berg  until  the  storm  was  over. 

Some  weeks  flew  by  after  this  without  anything 
occurring  worthy  of  particular  notice.  During 
this  time  the  Hope  made  good  progress  into  the 
Polar  regions,  without  again  suflfering  severely 
either  from  ice  or  storm,  although  much  retarded 
by  the  thick  fogs  that  prevail  in  the  Arctic  re- 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  45 

gions.  She  was  indeed  almost  always  surrounded 
by  ice,  but  it  was  suflBciently  open  to  allow  of  a 
free  passage  tbrough  it.  Many  whales  and  seals 
had  been  seen,  also  one  or  two  bears,  but  not  in 
circumstances  in  which  they  could  be  attacked 
without  occasioning  much  delay. 

The  brief  summer  had  now  passed  away,  and 
the  days  began  to  shorten  as  winter  approached. 
Still  Captain  Harvey  hoped  to  get  farther  north 
before  being  obliged  to  search  for  winter  quarters. 
One  morning  early  in  September,  however,  he  found 
to  his  sorrow  that  pancake-ice  was  forming  on  the 
sea.  When  the  sea  begins  to  freeze,  it  does  so  in 
small  needle-like  spikes,  which  cross  and  re-cross 
each  other  until  they  form  thin  ice,  which  the 
motion  of  the  waves  breaks  up  into  flat  cakes  about 
a  foot  or  so  across.  These,  by  constantly  rubbing 
against  each  other,  get  worn  into  a  rounded  shape. 
Sailors  call  this  "  pancake-ice."  It  is  the  first 
sign  of  coming  winter.  The  cakes  soon  become 
joined  together  as  the  frost  increases. 

The  place  where  this  occurred  was  near  to  those 
wUd  clifts  that  rise  out  of  the  sea  in  the  channels 
or  straits  that  lie  at  the  head  of  Baffin's  Bay. 
The  vessel  was  now  beyond  the  farthest  point  of 
land  that  had  been  discovered  at  the  time  of  which 
I  am  writing,  and  already  one  or  two  of  the  head- 
lands had  been  named  by  Captain  Harvey  and 
marked  on  his  chart. 


4  G  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

"  I  don't  like  to  see  pancake-ice  so  early  in  the 
season,"  remarked  the  captain  to  Mr.  Mansell. 

"  No  more  do  I,  sir,"  answered  the  mate. 
"  This  would  be  a  bad  place  to  winter  in,  I  fear." 

"  Land  ahead  !"  was  shouted  at  that  moment 
by  the  look-out  at  the  mast-head. 

"  Keep  her  away  two  points,"  said  the  captain 
to  the  man  at  the  helm.     "  How  does  it  lie  ]" 

"  Right  ahead,  sir." 

"  Any  ice  near  it  V 

"  No,  all  clear." 

The  brig  was  kept  a  little  more  out  to  sea. 
Soon  she  came  to  more  open  water,  and  in  the 
course  of  four  hours  was  close  to  the  land,  which 
proved  to  be  a  low  barren  island  not  more  than 
a  mile  across. 

Here  the  wind  died  away  altogether,  and  a  sharp 
frost  set  in.  The  pancakes  became  joined  together, 
and  on  the  following  morning  when  our  friend 
Gregory  came  on  deck  he  found  that  the  whole 
ocean  was  covered  with  ice  !  It  did  not,  indeed, 
look  very  like  ice,  because,  being  so  thin,  it  did 
not  prevent  the  usual  swell  from  rolling  over  the 
sea.  A  light  breeze  was  blowing,  and  the  brig 
cut  her  way  through  it  for  some  time  ;  but  the 
breeze  soon  died  away,  leaving  her  becalmed  within 
a  quarter  %of  a  mile  of  the  island. 

For  some  time  the  voyagers  hoped  that  a  thaw 
would  take  place,  or  that  wind  would  break  up 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  47 

the  ice.  But  they  were  disappointed.  This  was 
the  first  touch  of  the  cold  hand  of  winter,  and  the 
last  day  of  the  Hope's  advance  northward. 

Seeing  this,  Captain  Harvey  set  energetically 
to  work  to  cut  his  way  into  winter  quarters,  for  it 
would  not  do  to  remain  all  winter  in  the  exposed 
position  in  which  his  vessel  then  lay.  On  his 
right  was  the  island,  already  referred  to,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  oflf.  Beyond  this,  about  five 
miles  distant,  were  the  high  steep  cliflfs  of  the 
western  coast  of  Greenland.  Everywhere  else  lay 
the  open  sea,  covered  here  and  there  with  floes  and 
bergs,  and  coated  with  new  ice. 

This  ice  became  so  thick  in  the  course  of 
another  night  that  the  men  could  walk  on  it 
without  danger.  By  means  of  saws  and  chisels 
made  for  the  purpose  they  cut  a  passage  towards 
the  island,  and  finally  moored  the  brig  in  a  small 
bay  which  was  sheltered  on  all  sides  except  the 
east.  This,  being  the  land  side,  required  no  pro- 
tection.   They  name  the  place  "  Refuge  Harbour." 

Every  one  was  now  full  of  activity.  The 
voyagers  had  reached  the  spot  where  they  knew 
they  were  destined  to  spend  the  winter,  and  much 
had  to  be  done  before  they  could  consider  them- 
selves in  a  fit  state  to  face  that  terrible  season. 

Winter  in  the  Polar  regions  extends  over  eight 
months  of  the  year — from  September  to  May.  But 
8u  much  of  ice  and  snow  remains  there  all  the 


48  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

summer,  that  winter  can  scarcely  be  said  to  quit 
those  regions  at  all. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  the  Arctic  wintei 
is.  We  cannot  properly  understand  the  tremend- 
ous difficulties  and  sufferings  that  men  who  go 
to  the  Polar  seas  have  to  fight  against.  Let 
the  reader  think  of  the  following  facts,  and  see 
if  he  does  not  draw  his  chair  closer  to  the  fire 
and  feel  thankful  that  he  has  not  been  born  an 
Eskimo,  and  is  not  an  Arctic  seaman ! 

Winter  within  the  Arctic  circle,  as  I  have  said, 
is  fully  eight  months  long.  During  that  time  the 
land  is  covered  with  snow  many  feet  deep,  and 
the  sea  with  ice  of  all  degrees  of  thickness — from 
vast  fields  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet  thick  to  bergs  the 
size  of  islands  and  mountains, — all  frozen  into  one 
solid  mass. 

There  is  no  sunlight  there,  night  or  day,  for 
three  out  of  these  eight  winter  months,  and  there 
is  not  much  during  the  remaining  five.  In  summer 
there  is  perpetual  sunlight,  all  night  as  well  as  aU 
day  for  about  two  months, — for  many  weeks  the 
sun  never  descends  below  the  horizon.  It  is  seen 
every  day  and  every  night  sweeping  a  complete 
circle  in  the  bright  blue  sky.  Having  been  so 
free  of  his  light  in  summer,  the  sun  seems  to 
think  he  has  a  right  to  absent  himself  in  winter, 
for  the  three  months  of  darkness  that  I  have 
spoken  of  are  not  months  of  partial  but  of  total 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  49 

darkness — as  far  at  least  as  the  sun  is  coucerned. 
The  moon  and  stars  and  the  "  Northern  Lights" 
do  indeed  give  their  light  when  the  fogs  and  clouds 
will  allow  them  ;  but  no  one  will  say  that  these 
make  up  for  the  absence  of  the  sun. 

Then  the  frost  is  so  intense  that  everything 
freezes  solid  except  pure  spirits  of  wine.  Unless 
you  have  studied  the  thermometer  you  cannot 
understand  the  intensity  of  this  frost ;  but  for  the 
sake  of  those  who  do  know  something  about 
extreme  cold,  I  give  here  a  few  facts  that  were 
noted  down  during  the  winter  that  my  story  tells  of. 

On  the  10th  of  September  these  ice-bound  voy- 
agers had  eighteen  degrees  of  frost,  and  the  dark- 
ness had  advanced  on  them  so  rapidly  that  it  was 
dark  about  ten  at  night.  By  the  1st  of  October 
the  ice  round  the  brig  was  a  foot  and  a  half  thick. 
Up  to  this  time  they  had  shot  white  hares  on  the 
island,  and  the  hunting  parties  that  crossed  the 
ice  to  the  mainland,  shot  deer  and  musk  oxen, 
and  caught  white  foxes  in  traps.  Gulls  and  other 
birds,  too,  had  continued  to  fly  round  them  ;  but 
most  of  these  went  away  to  seek  warmer  regions 
farther  south.  Walrus  and  seals  did  not  leave 
so  soon.  They  remained  as  long  as  there  was  any 
open  water  out  at  sea.  The  last  birds  that  left 
them  (and  the  first  that  returned  in  spring)  were 
the  "  snow-birds" — little  creatures  about  the  size 
of  a   sparrow,  almost  white  with  a   few  brown 


50  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

feathers  here  and  there.  The  last  of  these  fled 
from  the  darkening  winter  on  the  7th  November, 
and  did  not  return  until  the  1st  of  the  following 
May.  When  they  left,  it  was  dark  almost  all  day. 
The  thermometer  could  scarcely  be  read  at  noon, 
and  the  stars  were  visible  during  the  day.  From 
this  time  forward  thick  darkness  set  in,  and  the 
cold  became  intense.  The  thermometer  fell  helov) 
zero,  and  after  that  they  never  saw  it  above  that 
point  for  months  together  ;  20,  30,  and  40  de- 
grees below,  were  common  temperatures.  The  ice 
around  them  was  ten  feet  thick.  On  the  1st  of 
December  noon  was  so  dark  that  they  could  not 
see  fifty  yards  ahead,  and  on  the  15th  the  fingers 
could  not  be  counted  a  foot  from  the  eyes.  The 
thermometer  stood  at  40^  below  zero. 

The  darkness  could  not  now  become  greater, 
but  the  cold  still  continued  to  grow  more  in- 
tense. It  almost  doubled  in  severity.  In  January 
it  fell  to  67°  below  zero  !  So  great  was  this  cold 
that  the  men  felt  impelled  to  breathe  guardedly. 
The  breath  issued  from  their  mouths  in  white 
clouds  of  steam  and  instantly  settled  on  their 
beards  and  whiskers  in  hoar-frost.  In  the  cabin 
of  the  Hope  they  had  the  utmost  difiiculty  in 
keeping  themselves  moderately  warm  at  this  time. 

Things  had  now  reached  their  worst,  and  by 
Blow  degrees  matters  began  to  mend.  On  the  2 2d 
of  January  the  first  faint  sign  of  returning  day 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  61 

appeared — ^jnst  a  blue  glimmer  on  the  horizoo. 
By  the  middle  of  February  the  light  tipped  the 
tops  of  the  mountains  on  shore,  and  the  highest 
peaks  of  the  ice-bergs  on  the  sea,  and  on  the  1  st 
of  March  it  bathed  the  deck  of  the  Hope.  Then 
the  long  imprisoned  crew  began  to  feel  that 
spring  was  really  coming.  But  there  was  little 
heat  in  the  sun's  rays  at  first,  and  it  was  not  till 
the  month  of  May  that  the  ice  out  at  sea  broke 
up  and  summer  could  be  said  to  have  begun. 

During  all  this  long  winter — during  all  these 
wonderful  changes,  our  Arctic  voyagers  had  a  hard 
fight  in  order  to  keep  themselves  alive.  Their 
life  was  a  constant  struggle.  They  had  to  fight 
the  bears  and  the  walrus  ;  to  resist  the  cold  and 
the  darkness  ;  to  guard  against  treachery  from  the 
natives  ;  and  to  suffer  pains,  sickness,  and  tri;ils, 
such  as  seldom  fall  to  the  lot  of  men  in  ordinary 
climates. 

How  they  did  and  suflFered  all  this,  T  shall  try 
to  show  in  the  following  pages.  In  attempting 
this  I  shall  make  occasional  extracts  from  the  jour- 
nal of  our  friend  Tom  Gregory,  for  Tom  kept  his 
journal  regularly,  and  was  careful  to  note  down 
onlv  wh-'t  he  beard  and  saw. 


62  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PREPAEATIONS  FOR  WINTERING REMARKABLE 

ADVENTURES  WITH  A  BEAR. 

THE  first  care  of  Captain  Harvey,  after  getting 
his  -brig  securely  laid  up  in  her  icy  cradle  for 
the  winter,  was  to  remove  some  of  the  stores  to 
the  island,  where  he  had  them  carefully  secured 
in  a  little  hut  which  the  crew  built  of  loose  stones. 
This  relieved  the  strain  on  the  vessel,  and  permit- 
ted the  free  circulation  of  air.  The  fitting  up  of 
the  interior  of  the  brig  was  then  begun. 

The  wooden  partition  between  the  cabin  and 
the  hold  was  taken  down,  and  the  whole  space 
thrown  into  one  apartment.  The  stove  was  put 
up  in  the  centre  of  it,  and  moss  was  piled  round 
the  walls  inside  about  a  foot  thick.  Moss  was 
also  spread  on  the  deck,  and  above  it  the  snow 
was  allowed  to  gather,  for  snow,  although  so  cold 
itself,  keeps  things  that  it  covers  warm,  by  not 
permitting  the  heat  to  escape.  The  brig  was  banked 
up  all  round  with  snow,  and  a  regular  snowy 
staircase  was  built  from  the  ice  to  her  bulwarks. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


53 


They  changed  their  time,  now,  from  what  is 
called  sea-time  to  that  which  we  follow  on  land. 
That  is  to  say,  they  reckoned  the  day  to  com- 
mence just  after  twelve  midnight,  instead  of 
dividing  it  into  watches  as  they  were  wont  to  do  at 
sea.  Journals  were  begun  and  careful  notes  made 
of  everything  tliat  occurred,  or  that  might  in  any 
way  further  the  object  for  which  they  had  gone 
there.  Every  man  in  the  sliip  had  his  appointed 
duty  and  his  post.  If  the  native  Eskimos  should 
arrive  in  a  warlike  temper,  each  man  had  his  cut- 
las  and  pistols  in  readiness.  If  a  bear  should  pay 
them  a  visit,  each  covdd  lay  hands  on  his  musket 
in  an  instant  ;  and  if  a  fire  should  break  out  on 
board,  every  man  had  his  bucket  ready  and  his 
particular  post  fixed.  Some  were  to  run  to  the 
water-hole,  which  it  was  the  duty  of  one  man  to 
keep  open.  Others  were  to  station  themselves 
from  the  hole  to  the  ship  to  pass  the  buckets, 
while  the  rest  were  to  remain  on  board  to  convey 
them  to  the  point  of  danger.  Captain  Harvey 
fixed  all  the  arrangements  and  superintended  the 
carrying  out  of  his  orders  in  a  general  way, 
making  his  two  officers  and  the  young  doctor  re- 
sponsible for  the  overseeing  of  details.  Each  of 
these  foremen  furnished  him  with  a  report  every 
night  of  what  had  been  done  during  the  day,  and 
the  result  was  noted  down  by  himself  in  a  journal. 
Thus   everything   went   smoothly   and   pleasantly 


54  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

along  during  the  first  weeks  of  their  sojourn  in 
their  frozen  home. 

In  regard  to  fresh  provisions  they  were  fortunate 
at  first,  for  they  obtained  sufiicient  supplies  of  deer 
and  other  game.  This  was  in  the  early  part  of  win- 
ter, while  there  was  still  plenty  of  day-light.  In 
Tom  Gregory's  journal  I  find  it  thus  written  : — 

"  September  1 0th. — The  days  are  beginning  to 
shorten  now,  and  we  are  all  busily  occupied  in 
preparing  for  the  long  dark  winter  that  is  before 
us.  Sam  Baker,  who  is  the  best  shot  among  us, 
brought  in  a  deer  to-day.  This  is  fortunate,  for 
we  stand  in  need  of  fresh  meat.  Our  greatest 
enemy  this  winter,  I  fear,  will  be  scurvy.  Unless 
we  obtain  a  large  supply  of  fresh  provisions  we 
cannot  hope  tc  escape  it.  Crofts  brought  in  two 
Arctic  hares.  They  are  beautiful  creatures — pure 
white — and  each  weighs  about  seven  pounds. 
Tliese,  with  the  four  deer  shot  by  myself  last 
week,  and  the  ten  hares  got  by  Baker,  wiU  keep 
us  going  for  some  time. 

"  Septemher  \2th. — I  had  an  adventure  with  a 
polar  bear  last  night  which  has  amused  the  men 
very  much  and  given  them  food  for  jocularity  for 
a  few  days.  Some  days  back  Davy  Butts  set  a 
trap  on  the  island,  in  which  he  has  caught  a  few 
foxes.  Last  night  his  long  legs  were  so  tired  that 
he  did  not  care  to  visit  his  trap,  so  I  offered  to  go 
instead  of  hira.     It  was  while  I  was  out  on  this 


FAST  IX  THE  ICE.  65 

errand  that  I  happened  to  meet  with  bruin.  Our 
meeting  was  sudden  and  unexpected  on  both  sides, 
I  believe.  It  was  midnight  when  I  set  off  to  the 
trap,  which  was  not  more  than  half  a  mUe  from  the 
ship,  and  it  was  quite  dark  when  I  reached  it. 

"  Davy  is  an  ingenious  fellow.  His  trap  is 
made  of  four  blocks  of  hard  snow,  with  a  sort  of 
wooden  trigger  that  goes  off  the  moment  the  bait 
is  touched,  and  allows  a  heavy  log  to  fall  down 
on  the  poor  fox's  back.  There  was  no  fox  there, 
however,  when  I  reached  it.  I  went  down  on  my 
knees  and  was  examining  the  bait  when  I  heard  a 
low  growl.  I  leaped  up  and  felt  for  the  knife 
which  I  usually  carried  in  my  belt.  It  was  not 
there  !  In  the  haste  of  my  departure  from  the 
ship  I  had  forgotten  to  buckle  it  on.  I  had  no 
gun  of  course.  It  was  too  dark  to  shoot,  and  I 
had  not  counted  on  meeting  with  any  dangerous 
enemy.  I  could  only  crouch  down  behind  a  lump 
of  ice  and  hope  that  the  bear  would  go  away,  but 
another  growl,  much  louder  than  the  first  and 
close  at  hand,  showed  that  I  had  been  seen.  It 
was  so  dark  that  I  could  hardly  see  fifty  yards 
ahead.  There  was  a  great  chasm  or  hole  just 
in  front  of  me.  This  was  the  place  where  the 
main  body  of  the  sea-ice  had  been  separated 
from  the  shore-ice  that  was  aground.  Here  every 
rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  had  broken  it  afresh,  so 
that  the  rent  was  twenty  yards  wide,  and  full  of 


56 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


large  blocks  that  had  been  tossed  about  in  con- 
fusion. Across  this  I  gazed  into  the  gloom  and 
thought  I  saw  an  object  that  looked  like  a  large 
block  of  rounded  ice.  Before  I  could  make  up 
my  mind  how  to  act  the  block  of  ice  rose  up  with 
a  furious  roar  and  charged  me.  The  chasm  checked 
him  for  a  moment.  But  for  this  I  should  have 
been  caught  immediately.  While  he  was  scram- 
bling over  it  I  took  to  my  heels  and  ran  along  the 
edge  of  the  ice  at  the  top  of  my  speed. 

"  There  was  a  narrow  part  of  the  chasm  which 
I  had  looked  at  in  daylight  and  wondered  whether 
I  might  venture  to  leap  across  it.  I  had  made  up 
my  mind  that  it  was  too  wide  and  dangerous  to  be 
attempted.  But  it  is  wonderful  how  quickly  a 
man  changes  his  mind  on  such  a  point  when  a 
polar  bear  is  roaring  at  his  heels.  I  came  to  the 
gap  in  the  ice.  It  was  ten  feet  deep  and  thirteen 
or  fourteen  feet  across.  The  jagged  lumps  of  ice  at 
the  bottom  lay  there  in  horrible  confusion.  There 
was  barely  light  enough  to  see  where  the  hole  was 
when  I  came  within  ten  yards  of  it,  but  I  did  not 
hesitate.  A  rush  !  a  bound  !  and  I  went  over 
Tike  a  cat.  Not  so  the  bear.  He  had  not  mea- 
sured the  place  with  his  eye  in  daylight  as  I  had 
done.  He  made  a  gallant  leap,  it  is  true,  but  fell 
short,  as  I  knew  from  the  bursting  sound  and  the 
growl  of  rage  with  which  he  came  against  the  edge 
of  the  ice  and  fell  back  among  the  broken  blocks. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


57 


I  did  not  wait  to  see  how  lie  got  out  you  may  be 
sure,  but  ran  as  I  never  ran  before  in  all  my  life  ! 
I  reached  the  brig  quite  out  of  breath.  The  bear 
had  not  followed  me  up,  for  I  did  not  see  him  that 
night  again.  Long  Davy  laughed  at  me  a  good 
deal,  and  said  he  was  sure  I  had  been  frightened 
at  a  shadow.  It  gave  a  wonderfully  loud  roar  for 
a  shadow  !  I  hope  that  Davy  himself  may  get  a 
chase  before  the  winter  is  over,  just  to  convince 
him  of  his  error  in  not  believing  me  !" 

The  kind  wish  thus  expressed  in  the  young 
doctor's  journal  was  gratified  sooner  than  might 
have  been  expected. 

Only  two  days  after  the  incident  above  de- 
scribed, poor  Davy  Butts  met  with  the  same  bear, 
face  to  face,  and  had  a  run  for  his  life  that 
turned  the  laugh  from  Tom  Gregory  to  himself 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  a  clear  cold  day  just 
about  sunset.  The  men  had  finished  dinner  and 
were  smoking  their  pipes  on  deck,  stamping  their 
feet  and  slappiug  their  hands  and  arms  to  keep 
them  warm. 

"Hallo,  Davy!  where  are  you  bound  fori" 
inquired  the  captain  on  observing  that  Butts  was 
wrapping  himself  carefully  in  his  fur  coat,  tighten- 
ing his  belt  and  putting  on  his  mittens,  as  if  bent 
on  a  long  journey. 

"  I'm  only  goin'  to  take  a  look  at  my  fox-trap, 
sir,  if  you'll  allow  me." 


5S  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

"  Certainly,  my  lad.  If  you  get  a  fox  it's 
well  worth  the  trouble.  And  hark'ee,  Davy,  take 
your  axe,  and  make  one  or  two  more  of  these 
snow-traps  of  yours.  It  will  be  a  well-spent 
hour." 

"  Why,  Butts,"  exclaimed  Gregory,  "  what  do 
you  mean  to  do  with  that  big  horse- pistol  1 
Surely  you  are  not  afraid  of  bears  after  laughing 
so  much  at  the  one  that  chased  me  ?" 

"  Oh  no,  not  afraid,  you  know,"  replied  Davy. 
*'  But  there's  no  harm  in  being  armed." 

"  Mind  you  shoot  him  straight  in  the  eye,  or 
send  a  bullet  up  his  nose.  Them's  the  wulnerable 
parts  of  him,"  cried  Joe  Davis,  with  a  laugh,  as 
Butts  went  down  the  snow-steps  and  got  upon  the 
ice. 

"  I  say,"  cried  Pepper,  as  he  was  moving  away. 

«'  Well  V 

"  Bring  his  tongue  aboard  with  you  and  I'll 
cook  it  for  supper." 

"  Ah,  and  a  bit  of  fat  to  fry  it  in,"  added  the 
steward.  "  There's  nothin'  like  tongue  fried  in 
bears'  grease." 

"  No,  no,  Dawkins,"  said  Mr.  Dicey.  "  Hallo  ! 
Davy,  bring  the  'ams.  Bears'  'ams  are  considered 
fustrate  heatin'." 

"  No,  don't  bring  the  hams,"  shouted  Jim 
Croft,  "  fetch  the  tongue,  that's  the  thing  for 
supper  of  a  cold  night — fetch  the  tongue,  lad." 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  59 

"Hold  your  own  tongue,"  shouted  Davy, in  reply, 
as  he  went  off  amid  the  laughter  of  his  comrades. 

The  sun  sank  soon  after,  and  before  the  ingeni- 
ous seaman  had  finished  two  new  traps  the  short 
twilight  had  gradually  deepened  into  night.  Still 
there  was  plenty  of  hght,  for  the  sky  was  clear 
and  studded  with  a  host  of  stars.  In  addition  to 
this  the  Aurora  Borealis  was  sending  its  beautiful 
flashes  of  pale-green  light  all  across  the  western  sky. 

The  Aurora — which  also  goes  by  the  names  of 
"Northern Lights,"  and  "Streamers,"  and  "Merry- 
dancers" — is  seen  in  great  splendour  in  these 
northern  skies.  When  the  seaman  had  finished 
his  traps  and  looked  up  for  a  minute  or  two  at  the 
sky,  before  starting  on  his  return  to  the  ship,  he 
beheld  the  Aurora  extending  over  the  heavens  iu 
the  form  of  an  irregular  arch.  It  was  extremely 
bright,  but  the  brightness  was  not  the  same  in  all 
parts.  It  moved  and  waved  gently  about  like  a 
band  of  thin  green  fire.  Every  now  and  then 
long  tongues  or  streamers  darted  up  from  it,  and 
these  were  brighter  than  the  rest.  They  were 
yellowish  white,  and  sometimes  became  pale  pink 
in  colour.  The  light  from  this  beautiful  object 
was  equal  to  that  of  the  moon  in  her  quarter,  and 
the  stars  that  were  behind  it  shone  dimly  through, 
as  if  they  were  covered  with  a  thin  gauze  veil. 

While  Davy  was  gazing  in  wonder  at  the  splendid 
lights  above  him,  a  deep  growl  fell  upon  his  ear. 


60  FAST  IX  THE  ICE. 

If  the  man  had  been  a  Jack-in-the-box  he  could 
not  have  leaped  more  quickly  round.  His  pistol 
was  out  and  cocked  in  a  moment ! 

The  growl  was  followed  by  a  roar,  which  drove 
all  the  blood  back  into  Davy's  heart  and  seemed 
to  freeze  it  there — solid. 

The  man  was  no  coward,  as  was  quite  clear,  for 
at  first  he  boldly  stood  his  ground.  But  he  would 
have  been  more  than  mortal  if  he  had  not  felt 
some  strange  qualms  about  his  heart  when  he  saw 
a  large  white  bear  rushing  furiously  towards  him. 
The  animal  came  this  time  from  the  interior  of  the 
smaU  island.  The  seaman  knew  well  the  place 
over  which  young  Gregory  had  jumped  when  he 
had  been  chased.  After  wavering  for  a  moment  or 
two  he  turned  and  fled.  Another  tremendous  roar 
helped  him  over  the  ice  like  a  deer,  and  he  took 
the  chasm  with  a  bound  like  an  India-rubber 
ball. 

It  must  certainly  have  been  the  same  animal 
that  chased  Gregory,  for,  instead  of  trying  to  leap 
the  chasm,  it  went  to  another  part  of  the  rent 
and  scrambled  across.  This  gave  Butts  time  to 
increase  the  distance  between  them,  but  a  man  is 
no  match  for  a  polar  bear  in  a  race.  The  monster 
was  soon  close  up  with  him  and  the  ship  still  far 
otf.  The  man  knew  his  danger  ;  he  turned,  took 
a  quick  aim,  and  fired.  He  missed,  of  course  ; 
flung  the  pistol  in  desperation  in  the  bear's  face 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  61 

and  ran  on.  The  pistol  happened  to  stick  in  the 
snow  with  the  butt  in  the  air,  and  when  the  bear 
came  up  to  it  he  stopped  to  smell  it  ! 

It  is  well  known,  now-a-days,  that  polar  bears 
are  full  of  curiosity,  and  will  stop  for  a  few  minutes 
to  examine  anything  that  comes  in  their  way, 
even  when  they  are  in  full  chase  of  a  man. 
Davy  Butts  knew  nothing  of  this  at  the  time  ;  but 
he  was  a  quick-witted  fellow.  He  observed  this 
stopping  of  the  bear,  and  determined  to  give  him 
something  more  to  stop  at. 

When  brain  was  close  at  his  heels  he  threw 
down  his  cap.  The  bear  at  once  pulled  up,  smelt 
it  all  round,  tossed  it  into  the  air  with  his  snout, 
pawed  it  once  or  twice,  then  tore  it  to  pieces  with 
one  wrench,  and  continued  the  chase.  Very  little 
time  was  lost  in  this  operation.  He  was  soon  up 
with  the  man  again,  then  a  mitten  was  thrown 
down  for  his  inspection.  After  that  the  other 
mitten  went,  the  cravat  followed,  and  the  axe 
went  next.  All  that  I  have  just  related  happened 
in  a  very  few  minutes.  Davy  was  still  a  good 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  brig ;  everything  that 
he  could  tear  off  his  person  in  haste  and  throw 
down  was  gone,  and  tlie  bear  was  once  more  com- 
ing up  behind.  As  a  last  hope  he  pulled  off  his 
heavy  fur  coat  and  dropped  it.  This  seemed  to 
be  a  subject  of  great  interest  to  the  bear,  for  it  was 
longer  of  inspecting  it  than  the  other  things.    And 


62 


FAST  m  THE  ICE. 


now  poor  Butts  went  tearing  along  like  a  manias 
in  his  flannel  shirt  and  trousers.  He  was  a  mis- 
erable and  curious  object,  for  his  body,  besides 
being  very  long,  was  uncommonly  lankey,  and  his 
legs  and  arms  seemed  to  go  like  the  wings  of  a 
windmill.  Never  since  the  day  of  his  birth  had 
David  Butts  run  at  such  a  pace,  in  such  light 
clothing,  and  in  such  severe  frost  ! 

A  long  line  of  low  hummocks  hid  him  from  the 
brig.  The  moment  he  passed  these  he  came  in 
sight  of  her  and  began  to  yell. 

"Wot  on  airth  is  yon  V  exclaimed  Joe  Davis, 
who  chanced  to  be  looking  over  the  gangway  when 
this  remarkable  object  appeared. 

"  The  wild  man  o*  the  North  himself,  or  my 
name  aint  Jim,"  said  Crofts,  turning  pale. 

"  Why,  it's  Davy  Butts  I  do  believe,"  cried  Sam 
Baker,  who  came  on  deck  at  that  moment. 

Just  then  the  bear  came  tearing  round  the  end 
of  the  hummocks  in  full  chase. 

"  Hurrah  !  hallo  !  ho  !"  roared  the  men  who 
had  crowded  on  deck  at  the  first  note  of  alarm. 

Sam  Baker  seized  a  heavy  ash  handspike,  about 
five  feet  long,  and  was  on  his  way  to  meet  his  com- 
rade before  the  others  had  gained  the  ice.  They 
were  not  slow,  however.  Some  with  muskets, 
some  with  pistols  and  cutlasses,  and  some  with 
nothing  but  their  fists — all  followed  Sam,  who 
who  was  now  far  ahead. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  63 

Baker  passed  Davy  without  a  remark  and  ran 
straight  at  the  bear,  which  stopped  on  seeing  such 
a  big  powerful  man  running  so  furiously  at  him, 
and  flourishing  a  bludgeon  that  would  almost  have 
suited  the  hand  of  a  giant.  But  polar  bears  are 
not  timid.  He  rose  on  his  hind  legs  at  once,  and 
paid  no  attention  whatever  to  the  tremendous 
crack  that  Sam  dealt  him  over  the  skull.  The 
blow  broke  the  handspike  in  two,  and  the  fool- 
hardy seaman  would  soon  have  paid  for  his  rash- 
ness with  his  life  had  not  friendly  and  steady 
hands  been  near.  Nothing  daunted,  he  was  about 
to  repeat  the  blow  with  the  piece  of  the  hand- 
spike that  was  still  in  his  grasp,  and  the  bear 
was  about  to  seize  him  with  its  claws,  each  of 
which  were  full  two  inches  long,  when  the  first 
mate  and  Gregory  came  running  towards  them  side 
by  side  ;  the  first  armed  with  a  rifle,  the  doctor 
with  pistols. 

"  Too  late,"  gasped  Gregory. 

"  We  must  fire,"  said  Mansell,  "and  risk  hitting 
Sam.  Here,  doctor,  you  are  a  good  shot ;  take 
the  rifle." 

The  young  man  obeyed,  dropped  on  one  knee 
and  took  aim,  but  did  not  fire.  Sam  was  between 
him  and  the  bear.  A  sudden  movement  changed 
their  positions.  The  side  of  the  monster  came 
into  view,  and  in  anotlier  instant  it  was  stretched 
on  the  ice  with  a  bullet  in  its  brain. 


C4  fi-A-ST  IN  THE  ICF. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  GREAT  BATTLE  WITH  THE  AVALEUS. 

IT  need  scarcely  be  said  that  there  was  a  jovial 
feast  that  night  at  supper.  The  bear's  tongue 
was  cooked  after  all,  but  the  impudent  tongues  of 
the  party  were  not  silenced,  for  they  almost  wor- 
ried the  life  out  of  poor  Davy  for  having  run 
away  from  a  bear. 

Soon  after  this  event  the  preparations  for  spend- 
ing the  winter  were  completed  ;  at  least  as  far  as 
the  fitting  up  of  the  vessel  was  concerned. 

"  This  morning,"  writes  Gregory  in  his  jour- 
nal, "  we  finished  housing  over  our  Arctic  home. 
The  Hope  is  very  snug,  lined  with  moss  and  al- 
most covered  with  snow.  A  sail  has  been  spread 
over  tlie  quarter-deck  like  an  awning ;  it  is  also 
covered  with  moss  and  snow.  This,  we  hope,  will 
give  much  additional  warmth  to  our  house  below. 
We  all  live  together  now,  men  and  officers.  It 
will  require  our  united  strength  to  fight  success- 
fully against  that  terrible  enemy  John  Frost. 
John  is  king  of  the  Arctic  regions  undoubtedly  ! 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  G5 

"  Dawkins  got  a  cold-bath  yesterday  that  amused 
the  men  much  and  did  him  no  harm.  For  some 
time  past  we  have  been  carrying  moss  from  the 
island  in  large  bundles.  Dawkins  got  leave  to 
lielp,  as  he  said  he  was  sick-tired  of  always  work- 
ing among  stores.  He  was  passing  close  to  the 
fire-hole  with  a  great  bundle  of  moss  on  his  back, 
when  his  foot  slipped  and  down  he  went.  This 
hole  is  kept  constantly  open.  It  is  Baker's  duty 
night  and  morning  to  break  the  ice,  and  have  it 
ready  in  case  of  fire.  T4ie  ice  on  the  surface  was 
therefore  thin  ;  in  a  moment  nothing  was  to  be 
seen  of  poor  Dawkins  but  his  bundle  !  Fortu- 
nately he  held  tight  on  to  it,  and  we  hauled  him 
out  soaked  to  the  skin.  The  thermometer  stood 
at  35"  below  zero,  the  coldest  day  we  have  had  up 
to  this  time  ;  and  in  two  minutes  the  unfortunate 
man's  clothes  were  frozen  so  stiff  that  he  could 
scarcely  walk  !  We  had  to  break  the  ice  on  his 
legs  and  arms  at  the  joints,  and  even  then  he  had 
to  be  half  hoisted  on  board  and  carried  below. 
We  all  dress  in  seal-skin  and  fox-skin  garments 
now.  Dawkins  had  on  a  rough  coat  made  of 
white  and  grey  foxes  ;  trousers  of  the  same  ;  boots 
of  sealskin,  and  mittens  ditto.  When  all  this  was 
soaked  and  frozen  he  was  truly  a  humbling  sight  ! 

"  The  undressing  of  him  was  a  labour  of  diffi- 
culty as  well  as  of  love.  However,  when  he  was 
rubbed  dry,  and  re-clothed,  he  was  none  the  worse. 


66  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

Indeed,  I  am  inclined  to  think  he  was  much  the 
better  of  his  ducking. 

*'  To-morrow  we  are  to  make  some  curious  ex- 
periments with  boats,  sledges,  and  kites.  The 
captain  is  anxious  to  take  our  largest  boat  over  the 
ice  as  far  to  the  south  as  possible  and  leave  her 
there  with  a  quantity  of  provisions,  so  that  we  may 
have  her  to  fall  back  upon  if  any  misfortune  should 
befall  the  brig,  which  I  earnestly  pray  that  God 
may  forbid. 

"  Davy  Butts,  who  is  an  ingenious  fellow  in  his 
way,  says  that  we  can  sail  a  boat  on  the  ice  almost 
as  well  as  on  the  water,  and  that  we  may  drag 
sledges  by  means  of  kites  if  we  choose.  The  cap- 
tain means  to  attempt  a  journey  to  the  north  with 
sledges  in  spring,  so,  if  the  kites  answer,  Butts 
will  have  done  us  good  service.  But  I  have  my 
doubts. 

"  The  nights  are  closing  in  fast  ;  very  soon  we 
shall  be  without  the  sun  altogether.  But  the 
moon  is  cheering  us.  Last  night  (28th  October) 
she  swept  in  a  complete  circle  round  the  sky  all 
day  as  well  as  all  night.  She  only  touched  the 
horizon,  and  then,  instead  of  setting,  she  rose  again 
as  if  the  frozen  sea  had  frightened  her. 

*'  October  30th. — Baker  came  in  to-day  and  re- 
ported open  water  about  six  miles  off,  and  walrus 
sporting  ic  it.  I  shall  set  out  to-morrow  on  a 
hunt." 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  67 

The  hunt  which  the  young  doctor  here  •wrote 
of,  came  off  on  the  following  day,  but  it  was  a 
very  different  one  from  what  any  of  the  men  had 
expected. 

Early  in  the  morning,  Baker,  Davy  Butts,  and 
Gregory  set  off  on  foot,  armed  with  a  rifle  and  two 
muskets,  besides  a  couple  of  harpoons,  a  whale- 
lance,  and  a  long  line.  They  also  took  a  small 
sledge,  which  was  intended  to  be  used  in  hauling 
home  the  meat  if  they  should  be  successful.  Three 
hours'  hard  walking  brought  the  party  to  the  edge 
of  the  solid  ice,  after  which  they  travelled  on  the 
floes  that  were  being  constantly  broken  by  the 
tides,  and  were  only  joined  together  by  ice  of  a 
night  or  two  old.  This  was  little  more  than  an 
inch  thick,  so  they  had  to  advance  witli  caution. 

Presently  the  loud  mooing  of  a  bull  walrus  was 
heard.  Its  roar  was  something  between  the  low- 
ing of  a  buU  and  the  bark  of  a  large  dog,  but  much 
louder,  for  the  walrus  resembles  an  elephant  in  size 
more  than  any  other  animal.  Soon  after  they  came 
in  sight  of  their  game.  Five  walrus  were  snort- 
ing and  barking  in  a  hole  which  they  had  broken 
in  the  ice.  The  way  in  which  this  huge  monster 
opens  a  hole  when  he  wants  to  get  out  of  the  sea, 
is,  to  come  up  from  below  with  considerable  vio- 
lence and  send  his  head  crashing  through  the  ice. 

The  tliree  men  now  became  very  wary.  They 
crept  on  their  hands  and  knees  behind    the  ice 


68  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

hummocks  until  within  about  a  hundred  yards  of 
the  brutes.  Then  they  ascended  a  small  hum- 
mock to  take  a  look  round  and  decide  on  their  plan 
of  operations.  While  lying  there,  flat  on  their 
faces,  they  took  particular  care  to  keep  their  heads 
well  concealed  ;  just  raising  them  high  enough  to 
observe  the  position  of  the  walrus.  There  was  a 
sheet  of  flat  ice  between  them  and  the  hole,  so  that 
it  was  impossible  to  advance  nearer  without  being 
seen.  This  perplexed  them  much,  for  although 
their  bullets  might  hit  at  that  distance  they  would 
not  be  able  to  run  in  quick  enough  to  use  their  lances, 
and  the  harpoons  would  be  of  no  use  at  all. 

WhUe  thus  undecided  what  to  do  they  were  un- 
expectedly taught  a  lesson  in  walrus  hunting  that 
surprised  them  not  a  little. 

"  Hallo  !  there's  a  bear  !"  whispered  Davy 
Butts,  as  a  hairy  object  crawled  out  from  behind 
an  ice-hummock  about  two  hundred  yards  from  the 
place  where  they  lay  and  made  towards  the  wal- 
rus in  a  sly  cat-like  manner. 

"  More  like  a  seal,"  observed  Baker. 

"  A  seal  !  why  it's  a  vian  /"  said  Gregory  in  a 
low  excited  whisper. 

"  So  it  is,  sure  enough,"  said  Baker  ;  "  it  must 
be  an  Eskimo,  though  his  hairy  garments  make 
him  look  more  like  a  bear  than  a  man,  and  as  the 
fellow  has  got  here  before  us  I  suppose  we  must 
give  up  our  claim  to  the  brutes," 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  69 

*'  Time  enough  to  talk  of  that  when  the  brutes 
are  killed,"  said  Gregory  with  a  smile.  "  But  lie 
still,  lads.  We  •wUl  take  a  lesson  from  this  fellow, 
who  has  been  so  earnestly  staring  at  the  walrus 
that  he  has  not  noticed  us." 

The  three  men  lay  perfectly  motionless  watch- 
ing the  native,  who  crept  as  near  to  the  hole  as  he 
could  without  being  seen,  and  then  waited  for  a 
few  minutes  until  the  creatures  should  dive.  This 
they  were  constantly  doing  ;  staying  down  a  few 
moments  at  a  time,  and  then  coming  up  to  breathe — 
for  the  walrus  cannot  live  without  air.  He  is  not 
a  fish,  and  although  he  can  stay  down  a  long  time, 
he  must  come  to  the  surface  occasionally  to  breathe. 
In  this  he  resembles  the  seal  and  the  whale. 

Presently,  down  they  all  went  with  a  tremen- 
dous splash.  Now  was  the  moment !  the  Eskimo 
rose,  ran  at  full  speed  for  a  few  yards,  then  fell 
flat  on  his  face  and  lay  quite  still  as  if  he  had  been 
shot  dead.  The  reason  of  this  was  soon  apparent. 
He  understood  the  habits  of  the  walrus  and  knew 
that  tliey  would  rise  again.  This  they  did  almost 
the  moment  after  and  began  their  snorting,  bellow- 
ing, and  rolling  again.  Once  more  they  dived.  Up 
got  the  Eskimo,  ran  a  few  yards  farther  forward, 
and  then  fell  flat  down  as  before.  In  this  way 
he  got  near  to  the  hole  without  being  seen. 

The  watchers  observed  that  he  carried  a  har- 
poon and  a  coil  of  thick  line. 

N 


70  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

The  next  time  the  wah-us  dived,  he  ran  to  the 
edge  of  the  hole,  but  now,  instead  of  falling  down, 
he  stood  quite  still  with  the  harpoon  raised  above 
his  head  ready  to  be  thrown.  In  a  few  moments 
the  monsters  re-appeared.  Two  rose  close  at  the 
edge  of  the  hole ;  one  was  a  male,  the  other  a 
female.  They  were  frightfully  ugly  to  look  at. 
Shaking  the  water  from  his  head  and  shoulders 
the  bull  at  once  caught  sight  of  the  man  who  had 
thus  suddenly  appeared.  At  that  instant  the 
Eskimo  threw  up  his  left  arm.  This  action 
instead  of  frightening  the  brutes  away  caused 
them  to  raise  themselves  high  out  of  the  water, 
in  order  to  have  a  good  look  at  the  strange  crea- 
ture who  had  thus  dared  to  disturb  them  in  their 
watery  home.  This  was  just  what  the  native 
wanted.  It  gave  him  a  chance  of  driving  the 
harpoon  under  the  flipper  of  the  male.  The  in- 
stant this  was  done  he  caught  up  the  end  of  his 
coil  and  ran  quickly  back  to  the  full  length  of  the 
line. 

The  battle  that  now  began  was  perhaps  one  of 
the  fiercest  that  was  ever  fought  in  the  Arctic 
regions.  The  walrus  lashed  the  water  furiously 
for  a  second  or  two  and  dived.  This  checked  the 
native,  who  at  once  stopped  running,  drove  the 
sharp  point  of  a  little  piece  of  wood  into  the  ice 
and  put  the  loop  at  the  end  of  his  line  over  it. 
He  pressed  the  loop  close  down  to  the  ice  with  his 


I 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  71 

feet,  so  that  he  could  hold  on  when  it  tightened, 
which  it  did  with  great  force.  But  the  line  was 
a  stout  one.  It  had  been  cut  from  the  hide  of  a 
walrus  and  prepared  in  a  peculiar  way  for  the  pur- 
pose of  standing  a  heavy  strain. 

The  Eskimo  now  played  the  monster  as  an 
angler  plays  a  trout.  At  one  moment  he  held  on, 
the  next  he  eased  off.  The  line  was  sometimes 
like  a  bar  of  iron,  then  it  was  slackened  off  as  the 
animal  rose  and  darted  about.  After  this  had  hap- 
pened once  or  twice  the  bull  came  to  the  surface, 
blowing  tremendously,  and  began  to  bark  and  roar 
in  great  fury.  The  female  came  up  at  the  same 
time.  She  evidently  meant  to  stick  by  her  part- 
ner and  share  his  danger.  The  others  had  dived 
and  made  off  at  the  first  sign  of  war. 

The  wounded  walrus  was  a  little  flurried  and 
very  angry ;  the  female  was  not  at  all  fright- 
ened, she  was  jjassionately  furious  !  Both  of 
them  tore  up  the  ice  tables  with  their  great  ivory 
tusks,  and  glared  at  their  enemy  with  an  expres- 
sion that  there  was  no  mistaking.  The  walrus  is 
well  known  to  be  one  of  the  fiercest  animals 
in  the  world.  Woe  to  the  poor  native  if  he 
had  been  caught  by  these  monsters  at  that 
time. 

After  somes  minutes  spent  in  uselessly  smashing 
the  ice  and  trying  to  get  at  the  native,  they  both 
dived.     Now  came  into  play  the  Eskimo's  know- 


72 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


ledge  of  the  animal's  habits  and  his  skill  in  this 
curious  kind  of  warfare.  Before  diving  they 
looked  steadily  at  the  man  for  a  second  and  then 
swam  under  the  ice  straight  for  the  spot  where  he 
stood.  The  Eskimo  of  course  could  not  see  this, 
but  he  knew  it  from  past  experience.  He  there- 
fore changed  his  position  instantly  ;  ran  a  few 
yards  to  one  side  and  planted  his  stick  and  loop 
again.  This  had  hardly  been  done  when  the  ice 
burst  up  with  a  loud  crash  •  a  hole  of  more  than 
fifteen  feet  wide  was  made  on  the  exact  spot  which 
the  man  had  quitted,  and  the  walrus  appeared  with 
a  puff  like  that  of  a  steam-engine  and  a  roar  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  a  lion. 

The  great  lumpish -looking  heads  and  square 
cut  faces  of  the  creatures  looked  frightful  at  this 
point  in  the  fight.  There  was  something  like 
human  intelligence  in  their  malicious  and  brutal 
faces,  as  the  water  poured  down  their  cheeks  and 
over  their  bristling  beards,  mingled  with  blood 
and  foam. 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  shout  close  at 
hand,  and  two  other  Eskimos  ran  out  from  behind 
the  ice-hummocks  and  joined  their  comrade.  They 
were  armed  with  long  lances,  the  handles  of  which 
were  made  of  bone,  and  the  points  of  beautiful 
white  ivory  tipped  with  steel.  It  was  afterwards 
discovered  that  these  natives  obtained  small  pieces 
of  iron  and  steel  from  the  Eskimos  farther  south. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  73 

who  were  in  the  habit  of  trading  at  the  settle- 
ments on  the  coast  of  Greenland. 

The  strangers  at  once  ran  to  the  edge  of  the 
pool  and  gave  tlie  bull  walrus  two  deep  wounds 
with  their  lances.  They  also  wounded  the  female. 
This  seemed  to  render  them  more  furious  thau 
ever.  They  dived  again.  The  first  Eskimo  again 
shifted  his  position  and  the  others  ran  back  a  short 
distance.  They  were  not  a  moment  too  soon  in 
these  changes,  for  the  ice  was  again  burst  upward 
at  the  spot  they  had  just  quitted,  and  the  enraged 
beasts  once  more  came  bellowing  to  the  surface 
and  vented  their  fury  on  the  ice. 

It  may  seem  almost  incredible  to  the  reader, 
hut  it  is  a  fact,  that  this  battle  lasted  fully  four 
hours.  At  the  end  of  the  third  hour  it  seemed 
to  the  sailors  who  were  watching  it,  that  the  re- 
sult was  still  doubtful,  for  the  Eskimos  were  evi- 
dently becoming  tired  while  the  monsters  of  the 
Polar  seas  were  still  furious. 

"  I  think  we  might  help  them  with  a  bullet," 
whispered  Baker.  "  It  might  frighten  them  per- 
haps, but  it  would  save  them  a  good  deal  of 
trouble." 

"  Wait  a  little  longer,"  replied  Gregory.  "  I 
have  it  in  my  mind  to  astonish  them.  You  see 
they  have  wounded  the  female  very  badly,  but 
when  the  male  dies,  which  he  cannot  now  be  long 
of  doing,  she  wiU  dive   and    make  off,  and   so 


74  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

they'll  lose  her,  for  they  don't  seem  to  have 
another  harpoon  and  line." 

"  Perhaps  they  have  one  behind  the  hummocks," 
suggested  Davy  Butts,  whose  teeth  were  chattering 
in  his  head  with  cold. 

"  If  they  had,  they  would  have  used  it  long 
ago,"  said  Gregory.  "  At  any  rate  I  mean  to  carry 
out  my  plan — which  is  this.  When  the  bull  is 
about  dead  I  will  fire  at  the  female  and  try  to  hit 
her  in  a  deadly  part  so  as  to  kill  her  at  once. 
Then,  Sam,  you  will  run  out  with  our  harpoon 
and  dart  it  into  her  to  prevent  her  sinking, 
or  diving  if  she  should  not  be  killed.  And 
you,  Davy,  wiU  follow  me  and  be  ready  with  a 
musket." 

This  plan  had  just  been  settled  when  the  bull 
walrus  began  to  show  signs  of  approaching  death. 
Gregory  therefore  took  a  deliberate  aim  with  the 
rifle  and  fired.  The  result  was  startling  !  The 
female  walrus  began  to  roll  and  lash  about  furi- 
ously, smashing  the  ice  and  covering  the  sea  around 
with  bloody  foam.  At  first  the  Eskimos  stood 
motionless — rooted  to  the  spot,  as  if  they  had 
been  thunderstruck.  But  when  they  saw  Sam 
Baker  dart  from  behind  the  hummock,  flourishing 
his  harpoon,  followed  by  Gregory  and  Butts,  their 
courage  deserted  them  ;  they  turned  in  terror  and 
fled. 

On  getting   behind   the   hummocks,   however. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  75 

they  halted  and  peeped  over  the  ledges  of  ice  to 
see  what  the  seamen  did. 

Sam  Baker,  being  an  old  whaleman,  darted  his 
harpoon  cleverly  and  held  fast  the  struggling  ani- 
mal. At  the  same  time  Davy  Butts  seized  the 
end  of  the  line  which  the  natives  had  thrown 
down  in  terror,  and  held  on  to  the  bull.  It  was 
almost  dead  and  quite  unable  to  show  any  more 
fight.  Seeing  that  all  was  right,  Gregory  now 
laid  down  his  rifle  and  advanced  slowly  to  the 
hummock  behind  which  the  Eskimos  had  taken 
refuge. 

He  knew,  from  the  reports  of  previous  travel- 
lers, that  holding  up  both  arms  is  a  sign  of  peace 
with  the  Eskimos.  He  therefore  stopped  when 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  hummocks  and  held 
up  his  arms.  The  signal  was  understood  at  once. 
The  natives  leaped  upon  the  top  of  the  hummock 
and  held  up  their  arms  in  reply.  Again  Gregory 
tossed  up  his  and  made  signs  to  them  to  draw 
near.  This  they  did  without  hesitation,  and  the 
doctor  shook  them  by  the  hand  and  patted  their 
hairy  shoulders.  They  were  all  of  them  stout 
well-made  fellows,  about  five  feet  seven  or  eight 
inches  high,  and  very  broad  across  the  shoulders. 
They  were  fat,  too,  and  oily-faced,  jolly-looking 
men.  They  smiled  and  talked  to  each  other  for 
a  few  moments  and  then  spoke  to  Gregory,  but 
when  he  shook  his  head,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  I 


76  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

don't  understand  you,"  they  burst  into  a  loud 
laugh.  Then  they  suddenly  became  grave,  and 
ran  at  full  speed  towards  the  hole  where  the  wal- 
rus floated. 

Davy  Butts  made  the  usual  sign  of  friendship, 
and  handed  them  the  end  of  their  line,  which 
they  seized  and  set  about  securing  their  prize 
without  taking  any  farther  notice  of  their  new 
friends. 

The  manner  in  which  these  wUd  yet  good- 
natured  fellows  hauled  the  enormous  carcase  out 
of  the  water  was  simple  and  ingenious.  They 
made  four  cuts  in  the  neck,  about  two  inches 
apart  from  each  other,  and  raised  the  skin  between 
these  cuts,  thus  making  two  bands.  Through  one 
of  these  bands  they  passed  a  line  and  carried  it  to 
a  stick  made  fast  in  the  ice,  where  they  passed  it 
through  a  loop  of  well-greased  hide.  It  was  then 
carried  back  to  the  animal,  made  to  pass  under 
the  second  band  and  the  end  was  hauled  in  by  the 
Eskimos.  This  formed  a  sort  of  double  purchase 
that  enabled  them  to  pull  out  of  the  hole  a  car- 
case which  double  their  numbers  could  not  have 
hauled  up. 

Some  idea  of  the  bull's  weight  may  be  formed 
when  I  say  that  the  carcase  was  eighteen  feet  long, 
and  eleven  feet  in  circumference  at  the  thickest 
part.  There  were  no  fewer  than  sixty  deep  lance- 
wounds  in  various  parts  of  its  body. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE,  77 

When  seen  close  at  hand  the  walrus  is  a  very 
ugly  monster.  It  is  something  like  a  gigantic 
seal,  having  two  large  flippers  or  fins  near  its 
shoulders,  and  two  others  behind  that  look  like 
its  tail.  It  uses  these  in  swimming,  but  can  also 
use  them  on  land,  so  as  to  crawl,  or  rather  to 
bounce  forward  in  a  clumsy  fashion.  By  means 
of  its  fore  flippers  it  can  raise  itself  high  out  of 
the  water  and  get  upon  the  ice  and  rocks.  It  is 
fond  of  doing  this,  and  is  often  found  sleeping  in 
the  sunshine  on  the  ice  and  on  rocks.  It  has 
even  been  known  to  scramble  up  the  side  of  an 
island  to  a  height  of  a  himdred  feet,  and  there 
lie  basking  in  the  sun. 

Nevertheless,  the  water  is  the  proper  element 
of  the  walrus.  All  its  motions  are  clumsy  and 
slow  until  it  gets  into  the  sea  ;  there  it  is  "  at 
home."  Its  upper  face  has  a  square  bluff"  look, 
and  its  broad  muzzle  and  cheeks  are  covered  by  a 
coarse  beard  of  bristles  like  quills.  The  two 
white  tusks  point  downwards.  In  this  they  are 
unlike  to  those  of  the  elephant.  The  tusks  of  the 
bull  kiUed  on  this  occasion  were  thirty  inches  long. 
The  hide  of  the  walrus  is  nearly  an  inch  thick,  and 
is  covered  with  close  short  hair.  Beneath  the  skin 
he  has  a  thick  layer  of  fat,  and  this  enables  him 
to  resist  the  extreme  cold  in  the  midst  of  which 
he  dwells. 

The  walrus  is  of  great  value  to  the  Eskimos 


7S  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

But  for  it  and  the  seal,  these  poor  members  of  the 
human  family  could  not  exist  at  all  in  those  frozen 
regions.  As  it  is,  it  costs  them  a  severe  struggle 
to  keep  the  life  in  their  bodies.  But  they  do  not 
complain  of  what  seems  to  us  a  hard  lot.  They 
have  been  born  to  it.  They  know  no  happier  con- 
dition of  life.  They  wish  for  no  better  home,  and 
the  All-wise  Creator  has  fitted  them  admirably, 
both  in  mind  and  body,  to  live  and  even  to  enjoy 
life  in  a  region  where  most  other  men  could  live 
only  in  great  discomfort,  if  they  could  exist 
at  all. 

The  Eskimos  cut  the  walrus'  thick  hide  into 
long  lines  with  which  they  hunt — as  we  have 
seen.  They  do  not  cut  these  lines  in  strips  and 
join  them  in  many  places  ;  but,  beginning  at  one 
end  of  the  skin  they  cut  round  and  round  without 
break  to  the  centre,  and  thus  secure  a  line  of 
many  ftithoms  in  length. 

It  is  truly  said  that  "  necessity  is  the  mother 
of  invention."  These  natives  have  no  wood.  Not 
a  single  tree  grows  in  the  whole  land  of  which  I 
am  writing.  There  are  plenty  of  plants,  grasses, 
mosses,  and  beautiful  flowers  in  summer — growing, 
too,  close  beside  ice-fields  that  remain  unmelted  all 
the  year  round.  But  there  is  not  a  tree  large 
enough  to  make  a  harpoon  of.  Consequently  the 
Eskimos  are  obliged  to  make  sledges  of  bones  ;  and 
as  the  bones  and  tusks  of  the  walrus  are  not  big 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  79 

enough  for  this  purpose,  they  tie  and  piece  them 
together  in  a  remarkably  neat  and  ingenious 
manner. 

Sometimes,  indeed,  they  find  pieces  of  drift- 
wood in  the  sea.  Wrecks  of  whale-ships,  too,  are 
occasionally  found  by  the  natives  in  the  south  of 
Greenland.  A  few  pieces  of  the  precious  wood 
obtained  in  this  way  are  exchanged  from  one  tribe 
to  another,  and  so  find  their  way  north.  But  the 
further  north  we  go,  the  fewer  pieces  of  this  kind 
of  wood  do  we  find  ;  and  in  the  far  north,  where 
our  adventurous  voyagers  were  now  ice-bound,  the 
Eskimos  have  very  little  wood  indeed. 

Food  is  the  chief  object  which  the  Eskimo  has 
in  view  when  he  goes  out  to  do  battle  with  the 
walrus.  Its  flesh  is  somewhat  coarse,  no  doubt,  but 
it  is  excellent  nourishing  food  notwithstanding, 
and  although  a  well-fed  Englishman  might  turn 
up  his  nose  at  it,  many  starving  Englishmen  have 
smacked  their  lips  over  walrus-beef  in  days  gone 
by, — ay,  and  have  eaten  it  raw,  too,  with  much 
delight ! 

Let  not  my  reader  doubt  the  truth  of  this 
Well-known  and  truth -loving  men  have  dwelt  for 
a  time  in  those  regions,  and  some  of  these  have 
said  that  they  actually  came  to  prefer  the  walrus 
flesh  raw,  because  it  was  more  strengthening,  and 
fitted  them  better  for  imdertaking  long  and  trying 
journeys  in  extremely  cold  weather.     One  of  the 


so  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

most  gallant  men  who  ever  went  to  the  Polar  seas 
(Dr.  Kane  of  the  American  navy)  tells  us  in  his 
delightful  book,*  that  he  frequently  ate  raw  flesh, 
and  liked  it,  and  that  the  Eskimos  often  eat  it 
raw.  In  fact,  they  are  not  particular.  They  will 
eat  it  cooked  or  raw — just  as  happens  to  be  most 
convenient  for  them. 

When  the  animals,  whose  killing  I  have  de- 
scribed, were  secured,  the  Eskimos  proceeded  to 
skin  and  cut  them  up.  The  sailors  of  course 
assisted,  and  learned  a  lesson.  While  this  was 
going  on  one  of  their  number  went  away  for  a 
short  time  and  soon  returned  with  a  sledge  drawn 
by  about  a  dozen  dogs.  This  they  loaded  with 
the  meat  and  hide  of  the  bull,  intending  evidently 
to  leave  the  cow  to  their  new  friends,  as  being 
their  property.  But  Gregory  thought  they  were 
entitled  to  a  share  of  it,  so,  after  loading  his 
sledge  with  a  considerable  portion  of  the  meat 
he  gave  them  the  remainder  along  with  the 
hide. 

This  pleased  them  mightily  and  caused  them  to 
talk  much,  though  to  little  purpose.  However, 
Gregory  made  good  use  of  the  language  of  signs. 
He  also  delighted  them  with  the  gift  of  a  brass 
ring,  an  old  knife,  and  a  broken  pencil-case,  and 
made  them  understand  that  his  abode  was  not  fai 
distant,  by  drawing  the  figure  of  a  walrus  in  a  hole 

•  "  Arctic  Explorations." 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE,  81 

on  the  snow,  and  then  a  thing  like  a  bee-hive  at 
some  distance  from  it,  pointing  northward  at  the 
same  time.  He  struck  a  harpoon  into  the  outline  of 
the  walrus  to  show  that  it  was  the  animal  that  had 
just  been  killed,  and  then  went  and  lay  down  in 
the  picture  of  the  bee-hive  to  show  that  he  dwelt 
there. 

The  natives  understood  this  quite  weU.  They 
immediately  drew  another  bee-hive,  pointed  to  the 
south  and  to  the  sun  and  held  up  five  fingers. 
From  this  it  was  understood  that  their  village  was 
five  days  distant  from  the  spot  where  they  then 
were. 

He  next  endeavoxired  to  purchase  three  of  their 
dogs,  but  they  objected  to  this,  and  refused  to 
accept  of  three  knives  as  a  price  for  them.  They 
were  tempted,  however,  by  the  offer  of  a  whale 
harpoon  and  a  hemp  line,  and  at  last  agreed  to  let 
him  have  three  of  their  best  dogs.  This  the  young 
doctor  considered  a  piece  of  great  good  fortune, 
and  being  afraid  that  they  would  repent  he  pre- 
pared to  leave  the  place  at  once.  The  dogs  were 
fastened  by  lines  to  the  sledge  of  their  new  mas- 
ters, A  whip  was  made  out  of  a  stripe  of  wal- 
rus hide,  a  bone  served  for  a  handle,  and  away 
they  went  for  the  brig  at  a  rattling  pace,  after 
bidding  the  natives  farewell  and  making  them  un- 
derstand that  they  hoped  to  meet  again  in  the 
course  of  the  winter. 


82  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

Thus  happily  ended  their  first  meeting  with  the 
Eskimos.  It  may  well  be  believed  that  there 
was  both  astonishment  and  satisfaction  on  board 
the  Hope  that  night  when  the  hunting  party  re- 
turned, much  sooner  than  had  been  expected,  with 
the  whip  cracking,  the  men  cheering,  the  dogs 
howling,  and  the  sledge  well  laden  with  fresh 
meat 


FAST  m  THE  ICE.  83 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  ICE-BERGS FOX-CHASE — A  BEAR. 

ONE  day,  long  after  the  walrus-hunt  just  de- 
scribed, Joe  Davis  stood  on  the  deck  of  the 
Hope  leaning  over  the  side  and  looking  out  to 
sea — at  least  in  the  direction  of  the  sea,  for, 
although  mid-day,  it  was  so  dark  that  he  could 
not  see  very  far  in  any  direction.  Joe  was  con- 
versing with  Mr.  Dicey  on  the  appearance  of 
things  around  him. 

"  Do  you  know,  Mr.  Dicey,"  said  he,  "  wot  it  is 
as  causes  them  there  ice-bergs  1 " 

Mr.  Dicey  looked  very  grave  and  wise  for  a  few 
seconds  without  answering.  Then  he  said,  in 
rather  a  solemn  tone,  "  Well,  Davis,  to  tell  you 
the  real  truth,  I  don't  know  !" 

Now,  as  this  question  is  one  of  considerable 
interest,  I  shall  endeavour  to  answer  it  for  the 
benefit  of  the  reader. 

The  whole  of  the  interior  of  Greenland  is  covered 
with  ice  and  snow.  This  snowy  covering  does  not 
resemble  that  soft  snow  which  falls  on  our  own 


84 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


hills.  It  is  hard,  and  never  melts  entirely  away. 
The  snow  there  is  in  some  places  a  thousand  feet 
thick !  It  covers  all  the  hUl-tops  and  fills  up  all 
the  valleys,  so  that  the  country  may  be  said  to  be 
a  buried  laud.  Since  the  world  began,  perhaps, 
snow  has  been  falling  on  it  every  winter ;  but  the 
summers  there  have  been  so  short  that  they  could 
not  melt  away  the  snow  of  one  winter  before 
that  of  another  came  and  covered  it  up  and 
pressed  it  down.  Thus,  for  ages,  the  snow  of  one 
year  has  been  added  to  that  which  was  left  of  the 
preceding,  and  the  pressure  has  been  so  great  that 
the  mass  has  been  squeezed  nearly  as  hard  as 
pure  ice. 

The  ice  that  has  been  formed  in  this  way  is 
called  glaciej-;  and  the  glaciers  of  Greenland 
cover,  as  I  have  said,  the  whole  country,  so  that 
it  can  never  be  cultivated  or  inhabited  by  man 
unless  the  climate  change.  There  are  glaciers 
of  this  kind  in  many  other  parts  of  the  world. 
We  have  them  in  Switzerland  and  in  Norway,  but 
not  on  nearly  so  large  a  scale  as  in  Greenland. 

Now,  although  this  glacier-ice  is  clear  and  hard, 
it  is  not  quite  so  solid  as  pure  ice,  and  when  it  is 
pushed  down  into  the  valleys  by  the  increasing 
masses  above  it  aciwdH^ly  flows.  But  this  flowing 
motion  cannot  be  seen.  It  is  like  the  motion  of 
the  hour  hand  of  a  watch  which  cannot  be  per- 
ceived however  closely  it  maybe  looked  at.     You 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  85 

might  go  to  one  of  the  valleys  of  Greenland  and 
gaze  at  a  glacier  for  days  together  but  you  would 
see  no  motion  whatever.  All  would  appear  solid, 
frozen  up,  and  still.  But  notice  a  block  of  stone 
lying  on  the  surface  of  the  glacier,  and  go  back 
many  months  after  and  you  will  find  the  stone 
lying  a  little  farther  down  the  valley  than  when 
you  first  saw  it.  Thus  glaciers  are  formed  and 
thus  they  slowly  move.  But  what  has  all  this  to 
do  with  ice-bergs  1     We  shall  see. 

As  the  great  glaciers  of  the  north,  then,  are 
continually  moving  down  the  valleys,  of  course 
their  ends  are  pushed  into  the  sea.  These  ends, 
or  tongues,  are  often  hundreds  of  feet  thick.  In 
some  places  they  present  a  clear  glittering  wall  to 
the  sea  of  several  hundreds  of  feet  in  height,  with 
perhaps  as  much  again  lost  to  view  down  in  the 
deep  water.  As  the  extremities  of  these  tongues 
are  shoved  farther  and  farther  out  they  chip  off  and 
float  away.  These  chips  are  ice-bergs  !  I  have 
already  said  that  ice-bergs  are  sometimes  miles  in 
extent — like  islands;  that  they  sink  seven  or  eight 
hundred  feet  below  the  surface,  while  their  tops 
rise  more  than  a  hundred  feet  above  it — like  moun- 
tains. If  these,  then,  are  the  *'  chips"  of  the  Green- 
land glaciers  what  must  the  "  old  blocks "  be  1 

Many  a  long  and  animated  discussion  the 
sailors  had  that  winter  in  the  cabin  of  the  Hope  on 
the  subject  of  ice  and  ice-bergs  ! 


86  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

When  the  dark  nights  drew  on  little  or  nothing 
could  be  done  outside  by  our  voyagers,  and  when 
the  ice  everywhere  closed  up,  all  the  animals  forsook 
them  except  polar  bears,  so  that  they  ran  short  of 
fresh  provisions.  As  months  of  dreary  darkness 
passed  away,  the  scurvy,  that  terrible  disease,  began 
to  show  itself  among  the  men  ;  their  bodies  became 
less  able  to  withstand  the  cold,  and  it  was  difficult 
for  them  at  last  to  keep  up  their  spirits.  But 
they  fought  against  their  troubles  bravely. 

Captain  Harvey  knew  weU  that  when  a  man's 
spirits  go  he  is  not  worth  much.  He  therefore  did 
his  utmost  to  cheer  and  enliven  those  around  him. 

One  day,  for  instance,  he  went  on  deck  to 
breathe  a  mouthful  of  fresh  air.  It  was  about 
eleven  in  the  forenoon,  and  the  moon  was  shining 
brightly  in  the  clear  sky.  The  stars,  too,  and 
the  aurora  borealis,  helped  to  make  up  for  the 
total  absence  of  the  sun.  The  cold  air  cut  like  a 
knife  against  his  face  when  he  issued  from  the 
hatchway,  and  the  cold  nose  of  one  of  the  dogs 
immediately  touched  his  hand,  as  the  animal 
gamboUed  round  him  with  delight  ;  for  the  ex- 
treme severity  of  the  weather  began  to  tell  on  the 
poor  dogs  and  made  them  draw  more  lovingly  to 
their  human  companions. 

"  Ho  !  haUo  ! "  shouted  the  captain  down  the 
hatchway.  "  A  fox  chase  !  a  fox  chase  !  Tumble 
up  aU  hands  !  " 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE,  87 

The  men  were  sitting  at  the  time  in  a  very  dull 
and  silent  mood.  They  were  much  cast  down,  for 
as  it  had  been  cloudy  weather  for  some  weeks 
past,  thick  darkness  had  covered  them  night  and 
day,  so  that  they  could  not  tell  the  one  from  the 
other,  except  by  the  help  of  their  watches,  which 
were  kept  carefully  going.  Their  journals,  also» 
were  written  up  daily,  otherwise  they  must  cer- 
tainly have  got  confused  in  their  time  altogether  ! 

In  consequence  of  this  darkness  the  men  were 
confined  almost  entirely  to  the  cabin  for  a  time. 
Those  who  had  scurvy  got  worse  ;  those  who  were 
well  became  gloomy.  Even  Pepper,  who  was  a 
tremendous  joker,  held  his  tongue,  and  Joe  Davis, 
who  was  a  great  singer,  became  silent,  Jim  Crofts 
was  in  his  bunk  "down"  with  the  scurvy,  and 
stout  Sam  Baker,  who  was  a  capital  teller  of 
stories,  could  not  pluck  up  spirit  enough  to  open 
his  mouth.  "In  fact,"  as  Mr.  Dicey  said,  "  they  all 
had  a  most  'orrible  fit  o'  the  blues  ! "  The  captam 
and  officers  were  in  better  health  and  spirits  than 
the  men,  though  they  all  fared  alike  at  the  same 
table  and  did  the  same  kind  of  work,  whatever 
that  might  chance  to  be.  The  officers,  however, 
were  constantly  exerting  themselves  to  cheer  the 
men,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  very  efi"ort  of 
theirs  was  the  means  of  doing  good  to  themselves. 
*'  He  that  watereth  others  shall  be  watered,"  says 
the  Word  of  God.     I  take  this  to  mean — he  that 


58 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


does  good  to  others  shall  get  good  to  himself.  So 
it  certainly  was  with  the  officers  of  the  Hope. 

When  the  captain's  shout  reached  the  cabin 
Jim  Crofts  had  just  said  : — "  I'll  tell  'ee  what  it 
is,  messmates,  if  this  here  state  o'  things  goes  on 
much  longer,  I'll  go  out  on  the  floes,  walk  up  to 
the  first  polar  bear  I  meet,  and  ask  him  to  take 
liis  supper  off  me  !" 

There  was  no  laugh  at  this,  but  Pepper  re- 
marked in  a  quiet  way  that  "  he  needn't  put 
himself  to  so  much  trouble,  for  he  was  such  a 
pale-faced,  disagreeable  looking  object,  that  no  bear 
would  eat  him  unless  it  was  starving." 

"  Well,  then,  I'U  offer  myself  to  a  starvin'  bear, 
— to  one  that's  a'most  dead  with  hunger,"  retorted 
Jim,  gloomily. 

"  What's  that  the  cap' en  is  singin'  out  V  said 
Davy  Butts,  who  was  mending  a  pair  of  canvas 
shoes. 

The  men  roused  themselves  at  once  ;  for  the 
hope  of  anything  new  turning  up  excited  them. 

"  Hallo  !  ho  !"  roared  the  captain  again,  in  a 
voice  that  might  have  started  a  dead  walrus, 
"  Tumble  up  there  ! — a  fox  chase  !  I'll  give  my 
second-best  fur-coat  to  the  man  that  catches 
foxey  !" 

In  one  instant  the  whole  crew  were  scrambling 
up  the  ladder.  Even  Jim  Crofts,  who  was  really 
ill,  rolled  out  of  his  bunk  and  staggered  on  deck, 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  89 

Baying  he  would  have  a  "  go  after  foxey  if  he 
should  die  for  it  !" 

The  game  of  fox  is  simple.  One  man  is  chosen 
to  be  the  fox.  He  nins  off  and  the  rest  follow. 
They  are  bound  to  go  wherever  the  fox  leads.  In 
this  case  it  was  arranged  that  the  fox  should  run 
round  the  deck  until  he  should  be  caught ;  then 
the  man  who  caught  him  should  become  fox  and 
continue  running  on  with  all  the  rest  following 
until  he,  in  turn,  should  be  caught,  and  so  on  until 
the  one  who  could  run  longest  and  fastest  should 
break  down  all  the  rest.  The  warm  fur-coat  was 
a  prize  worth  running  for  in  such  a  cold  climate, 
so  the  game  began  with  spirit.  Young  Gregory 
offered  to  be  fox  first,  and  away  they  went  with  a 
yell.  Mr.  Mansell  was  a  little  lame  and  soon  gave 
in.  Mr.  Dicey  fell  at  the  second  round  and  was 
unable  to  recover  distance.  Gregory  would  cer- 
tainly have  gained  the  coat,  for  he  was  strong  and 
had  been  a  crack  racer  at  school ;  but  he  did  not 
want  the  coat,  so  allowed  Sam  Baker  to  catch  him. 
Sam  held  on  like  a  deer  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
one  after  another  the  men  dropped  off  as  they 
were  blown.  Jim  Crofts,  poor  fellow,  made  a  gal- 
lant burst,  but  his  limbs  refused  to  help  his  spirit. 
He  fell  and  was  assisted  below  by  the  captain  and 
replaced  in  his  bunk,  where,  however,  he  felt  the 
benefit  of  his  efforts. 

The  chase  was  now  kept  up  by  Sam  Baker,  Joe 


90  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

Davis,  and  Butts.  These  three  were  struggling 
on  and  panting  loudly  while  their  comrades  danced 
about,  clapped  their  mittened  hands  and  shouted, 
"  Now  then,  Sam  ! — go  in  and  win,  Joe  ! — Butts 
for  ever  !"  and  such  like  encouraging  cries. 

To  the  surprise  of  every  one  Davy  Butts  came 
off  the  winner,  and  for  many  a  day  after  that  en- 
joyed the  warm  coat  which  he  said  his  long  legs 
had  gained  for  him. 

This  effort  of  the  captain  to  cheer  the  men 
was  veiy  successful,  so  he  resolved  to  follow 
it  up  with  an  attempt  at  private  theatricals. 
Accordingly,  the  thing  was  proposed  and  heartily 
agreed  to.  Next  day  every  one  was  busy  making 
preparations.  Tom  Gregory  agreed  to  write  a  short 
play.  Sam  Baker  being  the  healthiest  man  on 
board  was  willing  to  act  the  part  of  an  invalid  old 
lady,  and  Jim  Crofts  consented  to  become  a  gay 
young  doctor  for  that  occasion. 

Meanwhile  the  captain  arranged  a  piece  of  real 
work,  for  he  felt  that  the  attempt  to  keep  up 
the  spirits  alone  would  not  do.  They  had  been 
for  a  long  time  living  on  salt  provisions.  Nothing 
could  restore  the  crew  but  fresh  meat — yet  fresh 
meat  was  not  to  be  had.  The  walrus  and  deer 
were  gone,  and  although  foxes  and  bears  were  still 
around  them  they  had  failed  in  all  their  attempts 
to  shoot  or  trap  any  of  these  animals.  A  visit  to 
the  Eskimo  camp,  therefore  (if  such  a  camp  really 


FAST  IN  THIT  ICE.  91 

existed)  became  necessary ;  so,  while  the  theatri- 
cals were  in  preparation,  a  small  sledge  was  rigged 
up,  Gregory  and  Sam  Baker  were  chosen  to  go  with 
him  ;  the  dogs  were  harnessed,  and,  on  a  fine  starry 
forenoon,  away  they  went  to  the  south  at  full  gal- 
lop with  three  hearty  cheers  from  the  crew  of  the 
brig,  who  were  left  in  charge  of  the  first  mate. 

The  journey  thus  undertaken  was  one  full  of 
risk.  It  was  not  known  how  far  distant  the  natives 
might  be,  or  where  they  were  likely  to  be  found. 
The  weather  was  intensely  cold.  Only  a  small 
quantity  of  preserved  meat  could  be  taken — for 
the  rest,  they  trusted  in  some  measure  to  their 
guns.  But  the  captain's  great  hope  was  to  reach 
the  Eskimo  village  in  a  day  or  two  at  the  farthest. 
If  he  should  fail  to  do  so,  the  prospect  of  himself 
and  his  crew  surviving  the  remainder  of  the  long 
winter  was,  he  felt,  very  gloomy  indeed. 

Success  attended  this  expedition  at  the  very  be- 
ginning. They  had  only  been  eight  hours  out 
when  they  met  a  bear  sitting  on  its  haunches  be- 
hind a  hummock.  "  Hallo  !  look  out  !"  cried 
Gregory  on  catching  sight  of  him.  "  Fire,  lads," 
said  the  captain,  "  I'm  not  quite  ready."  Gregory 
fired  and  the  bear  staggered.  Baker  then  fired 
and  it  fell ! 

This  was  a  blessing  which  filled  their  hearts  so 
full  of  thankfulness  that  they  actually  shook  hands 
with  each  other  and  then  gave  vent  to  three  hearty 


92 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


cheers.  Their  next  thoughts  were  given  to  their 
comrades  in  the  Hope. 

"  You  and  Baker  will  camp  here,  Tom,"  said 
the  captain,  "  and  I  will  return  to  the  brig  with 
a  sledge-load  of  the  meat.  When  I've  put  it 
aboard  I'll  come  straight  back  to  you.  We'll  keep 
a  ham  for  ourselves,  of  course.  Now,  then,  to 
work." 

To  work  the  three  men  went.  A  hind  leg  of 
the  bear  was  cut  off,  the  rest  was  lashed  firmly  on 
the  sledge,  and  the  dogs  enjoyed  a  feed  while  this 
was  being  done.  Then  the  captain  cracked  his 
whip.  "  Good-bye,  lads,"  "  Good-bye,  captain," 
and  away  he  and  the  dogs  and  sledge  went,  and 
were  soon  lost  to  view  among  the  hummocks  of 
the  frozen  sea. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  93 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  VISIT  TO  THE  ESKIMOS WONDERFUL  DOINGS 

A  MYSTERY, 

THE  proceedings  of  this  sledge-party  were  so 
interesting  that  I  give  them  in  the  words  of 
Tom  Gregory's  journal  : — 

"  Sunday. — We  have  indeed  cause  to  rejoice 
and  to  thank  God  for  His  mercies  tliis  morning. 
Last  night  we  shot  a  bear,  and  the  captain  is  away 
with  the  carcase  of  it  to  our  poor  scurvy-smitten 
friends  in  the  Hope.  This  Sunday  will  be  a  real 
day  of  rest  for  me  and  Sam  Baker,  though  our 
resting-place  is  a  very  queer  one.  After  the  cap- 
tain left  us,  we  looked  about  for  a  convenient  place 
to  encamp,  and  only  a  few  yards  from  the  spot 
where  we  killed  the  bear  we  found  the  ruins  of  an 
old  Eskimo  hut  made  partly  of  stones  partly  of  ice. 
We  set  to  work  to  patch  it  up  with  snow,  and 
made  it  perfectly  air-tight  in  about  two  hours. 

"  Into  this  we  carried  our  bear-skins  and  things, 
spread  them  on  the  snowy  floor,  put  a  lump  of 
bear's  fat  into  our  tin  travelling  lamp,   and  pre- 


94 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


pared  supper.  We  were  not  particular  about  the 
cookery.  We  cut  a  couple  of  huge  slices  off  our 
bear's  ham,  half  roasted  them  over  the  lamp  and 
began.  It  was  cut,  roast,  and  come  again,  for  the 
next  hour  and  a  half.  I  positively  never  knew 
what  hunger  was  untU  I  came  to  this  savage 
country  !  And  I  certainly  never  before  had  any 
idea  of  how  much  I  could  eat  at  one  sitting  ! 

"  This  hearty  supper  was  washed  down  with  a 
swig  of  melted  snow-water.  We  had  some  coffee 
with  us  but  were  too  tired  to  infuse  it.  Then  we 
blocked  up  the  door  with  snow,  roUed  our  bear- 
skins round  us,  and  were  sound  asleep  in  five 
minutes. 

"  Lucky  for  us  that  we  were  so  careful  to 
stop  up  every  hole  with  snow,  for,  during  the 
night,  the  wind  rose  and  it  became  so  intensely 
cold  that  Baker  and  I  could  scarcely  keep  each 
other  warm  enough  to  sleep,  tired  though  we  were. 
At  this  moment  my  fingers  are  so  stiff  that  they 
will  hardly  hold  the  pencil  with  which  I  write, 
and  the  gale  is  blowing  so  furiously  outside  that 
we  dare  not  open  the  door.  This  door,  by  the 
way,  is  only  a  hole  big  enough  to  creep  through. 
The  captain  cannot  travel  to-day.  He  knows  we 
are  safe,  so  I  will  not  expect  him.  I  have  brought 
my  small  Testament  with  me.  It  has  hitherto  been 
my  constant  travelling  companion.  I  am  thus 
provided  with  mental  food.     But  in  truth  I  shall 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  95 

not  want  much  of  that  for  the  next  twelve  hours. 
Rest !  rest !  rest  !  is  what  we  require.  No  one 
can  imagine  how  a  man  can  enjoy  rest,  after  he 
has  been  been  for  many  months  exposed  to  con- 
stant, exhausting,  heait-breaking  toil,  with  the 
thermometer  always  below  zero,  and  with  nothing 
but  salt  food  to  keep  him  alive. 

"  Tuesday  night. — Here  we  are  at  last — among 
the  Eskimos  !  and  what  a  queer  set  they  are  to 
be  sure.  All  fat  and  fur  !  They  look  as  broad 
as  they  are  long.  They  wear  short  fox  and  seal- 
skin coats  or  shirts  witli  hoods  to  them ;  no  trousers, 
but  long  boots  that  come  up  and  meet  the  coats. 
Women,  men,  and  babies,  all  dressed  alike,  or 
nearly  so.  The  only  difference  is,  that  the  women's 
boots  are  longer  and  wider  than  those  of  the  men. 
But  I  forget — yes,  there  is  one  other  difference  ; 
the  women  have  tails  to  their  coats  ;  the  men  have 
none  !  Real  tails — not  like  the  broad  skirts  of  our 
dress-coats,  but  long  narrow  tails  something  like 
the  tail  of  a  cow  with  a  broadish  flap  at  the  end 
of  it.  This  they  evidently  look  upon  as  a  hand- 
some ornament,  for  I  observe  that,  when  they  go 
off  on  a  journey,  each  woman  buttons  her  tail 
up  to  her  waist  to  keep  it  out  of  the  way,  and 
when  she  returns  she  unbuttons  it  and  comes 
into  camp  with  her  tail  flowing  gracefully  behind 
her  ! 

"  We  had  a  terrible  journey  of  it  down  here. 


96  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

The  captain  returned  to  us  on  Monday  morning 
early,  and  the  next  two  days  we  spent  struggling 
over  the  hummocks  and  out  upon  the  Hoes.  It 
was  so  cold  that  the  wind  cut  into  our  very  mar- 
row. We  have  all  had  our  faces  frozen,  more  or 
less,  but  not  badly.  Baker  will  have  an  ugly  spot 
on  the  end  of  his  nose  for  some  weeks  to  come. 
It  is  getting  black  now,  and  as  the  nose  itself  is 
bright  red  and  much  swelled  his  appearance  is  not 
improved.  I  foolishly  tried  to  eat  a  little  snow 
yesterday  morning,  and  the  consequence  is  that 
my  lips  are  sore  and  bloody.  On  Monday  after- 
noon the  dogs  and  sledge  went  head  over  heels 
into  a  deep  rut  in  the  ice,  and  it  cost  us  two  hours 
to  get  them  out  again.  Luckily  no  damage  was 
done,  although  the  captain  was  on  the  sledge  at 
the  time. 

"We  had  almost  despaired  of  finding  the  village 
when  we  came  upon  a  sledge  track  that  led  us 
straight  up  to  it.  I  shall  never  forget  the  beauty 
of  the  scene  on  our  arrival.  The  sky  was  lighted 
up  with  the  most  beautiful  aurora  I  have  yet  seen 
in  these  regions.  Stars  spangled  the  sky  in 
millions.  Great  ice-bergs  rose  in  wild  confusion 
in  the  distance,  and  all  along  the  shore  for  a  few 
hundred  yards  were  clusters  of  snow-huts.  They 
looked  exactly  like  big  bee-hives.  I  have  seen 
many  a  strange  house,  but  the  strangest  of  all  is 
certainly  a  house  of  snow !    To-day  I  was  fortunate 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  97 

enough  to  see  one  built.  It  was  done  very  neatly. 
The  hard  snow  was  cut  into  slabs  with  a  wooden 
knife.  These  were  piled  one  above  another  in 
regular  order  and  cemented  with  snow — as  bricks 
are  with  lime.  The  form  of  the  wall  was  circular, 
and  the  slabs  were  so  shaped  that  they  sloped 
inwards,  thus  forming  a  dome,  or  large  bee-hive, 
with  a  key-stone  slab  in  the  top  to  keep  all  firm. 
A  hole  was  then  cut  in  the  side  for  a  door — just 
large  enough  to  admit  of  a  man  creeping  through. 
In  front  of  this  door  a  porch  or  passage  of  snow 
was  built.  The  only  way  of  getting  into  the  hut 
is  by  creeping  on  hands  and  knees  along  the  passage. 
A  hole  was  also  cut  in  the  roof,  into  which  was 
inserted  a  piece  of  clear  ice  to  serve  for  a  window, 
"The  natives  received  us  with  wild  surprise, 
and  I  found  my  old  friends  the  walrus  hunters 
among  them.  They  were  remarkably  friendly. 
One  stout  middle-aged  fellow  invited  us  to  his  hut. 
I  am  now  seated  in  it  beside  the  Eskimo's  wife, 
who  would  be  a  good-looking  woman  if  she  were 
not  so  fat,  dirty,  and  oily  !  But  we  cannot  ex- 
pect people  living  in  this  fashion  and  in  such  a 
country  to  be  very  clean.  Although  the  hut  is 
white  outside  it  is  by  no  means  white  inside. 
They  cook  all  their  food  over  an  oil  lamp  whicli 
also  serves  to  heat  the  place  ;  and  it  is  wonderful 
how  warm  a  house  of  snow  becomes.  The  cold* 
outside  is  so  great  as  to  prevent  the  walls  melting 


98  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

inside.  Besides  Myouk,  our  host,  and  his  wife, 
there  are  two  of  the  man's  sisters,  two  lads,  two 
girls,  and  a  baby  in  the  hut.  Also  six  dogs.  The 
whole  of  them — men,  women,  children,  and  dogs, 
are  as  fat  as  they  can  be,  for  they  have  been  suc- 
cessful in  walrus-hunting  of  late.  No  wonder  that 
the  perspiration  is  running  down  my  face  !  The 
natives  feel  the  heat  too,  for  they  are  all  half  naked 
— the  baby  entirely  so  ;  but  they  seem  to  like  it  ! 

"  What  a  chattering  to  be  sure  !  I  am  trying 
to  take  notes,  and  Myouk's  wife  is  staring  at  me 
with  her  mouth  wide  open.  It  is  a  wonder  she 
can  open  her  eyes  at  all  her  cheeks  are  so  fat. 
The  captain  is  trying,  by  the  language  of  signs,  to 
get  our  host  to  understand  that  we  are  much  in 
want  of  fresh  meat.  Sam  Baker  is  making  him- 
self agreeable  to  the  young  people,  and  the  plan 
he  has  hit  upon  to  amuse  them  is  to  show  them 
his  watch,  and  let  them  hear  it  tick.  Truly,  1 
have  seldom  seen  a  happier  family  group  than  this 
Eskimo  household  under  their  snowy  roof ! 

"  There  is  to  be  a  grand  walrus-hunt  to-morrow. 
We  shall  accompany  them  and  see  whether  our 
endurance  on  a  long  march  and  our  powers  with 
the  rifle  cannot  impress  them  with  some  respect  for 
us.  At  present  they  have  not  much.  They  seem 
to  think  us  a  pale-faced  set  of  helpless  creatures. 

"  Wednesday  night. — We  have  just  returned 
from  the  hunt ;  and  a  tremendous  hunt  it  was  ! 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  99 

Six  walrus  and  two  bears  have  been  killed,  and 
the  whole  village  is  wild  with  delight.  Cooking 
is  going  on  in  every  hut.  But  they  have  no 
patience.  Nearly  every  one  is  munching  away  at 
a  lump  of  raw  walrus  flesh.  All  their  faces  are 
more  or  less  greasy  and  bloody.  Even  Myouk's 
baby — though  not  able  to  speak — is  choking 
itself  with  a  long  stringy  piece  of  blubber.  The 
dogs,  too,  have  got  their  share.  An  Eskimo's 
chief  happiness  seems  to  be  in  eating,  and  I  cannot 
wonder  at  it,  for  the  poor  creatures  have  hard 
work  to  get  food,  and  they  are  often  on  the  verge 
of  starvation. 

"  ^Vhat  a  dirty  set  they  are  !  I  shall  never 
forget  the  appearance  of  Myouk's  hut  when  we 
entered  it  this  evening  after  returning  from  the 
hunt.  The  man's  wife  had  made  the  wick  of  her 
stone  lamp  as  long  as  possible  in  order  to  cook  a 
large  supper.  There  were  fifteen  people  crowded 
together  in  this  hive  of  snow,  and  the  heat  had 
induced  them  to  tlirow  ofl"  the  greater  part  of  their 
clothing.  Every  hand  had  a  greasy  lump  of  bear 
or  walrus  meat  in  it ;  every  mouth  was  in  full 
occupation,  and  every  fat  face,  of  man,  woman, 
and  child,  was  beaming  with  delight,  and  covered 
with  dirt  and  oil  ! 

"  The  captain  and  I  looked  at  each  other  and 
smiled  as  we  entered,  and  Sam  Baker  laughed 
outright.     This  set  all  the  natives  laughing  too. 


100  FAST  m  THE  ICE. 

We  did  not  much  relish  the  idea  of  supping  and 
sleeping  in  such  a  place — but  necessity  has  no 
\aw.  We  were  hungry  as  hawks,  desperately 
tired,  and  the  temperature  outside  is  35°  below 
zero.  The  first  duty  of  the  night  is  now  over. 
We  have  supped.  The  natives  will  continue  to 
eat  the  greater  part  of  the  night.  They  eat  till 
they  fall  asleep  ;  if  they  chance  to  awake  they 
eat  again.  Half  of  them  are  asleep  now — and 
snoring.  The  other  half  are  eating  slowly,  for 
they  are  nearly  full.  The  heat  and  smell  are 
awful !  I  am  perspiring  at  every  pore.  We  have 
taken  off  as  much  of  our  clothes  as  decency  will 
permit.  Sam  has  on  a  pair  of  trousers — nothing 
more.  I  am  in  the  same  state  !  There  is  little 
room,  as  may  be  supposed.  We  have  to  lie 
huddled  up  as  we  best  can,  and  a  strange  sight 
we  are  as  the  red  light  of  the  flaring  lamp  falls 
on  us.  At  this  moment  Myouk's  wife  is  cutting 
a  fresh  steak.  The  youngest  boy  is  sound  asleep 
with  a  lump  of  fat  between  his  teeth.  The  cap- 
tain is  also  sound,  with  his  legs  sprawling  over 
the  limbs  of  half  a  dozen  slumbering  natives. 
He  is  using  the  baby  as  a  pillow.  It  is  curious 
to  think  that  these  poor  creatures  always  live  in 
this  way.  Sometimes  feasting,  sometimes  starv- 
ing. Freezing  out  on  the  floes  ;  stewing  under 
their  roofs  of  snow.  Usually  fat  ;  for  the  most 
part  jolly;  always  dirty  ! 


FAST  m  THE  ICE.  101 

"  It  is  sad,  too,  to  think  of  this  ;  for  it  is  a  low 
condition  for  human  beings  to  live  in.  They  seem 
to  have  no  religion  at  all.  Certainly  none  that  is 
worthy  of  the  name.  I  am  much  puzzled  when  I 
think  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  introducing 
Christianity  among  these  northern  Eskimos.  No 
missionary  could  exist  in  such  a  climate  and  in 
such  circumstances.  It  is  with  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty that  hardy  seamen  can  hold  out  for  a  year, 
even  with  a  ship-load  of  comforts.  But  this  is  too 
deep  a  subject  to  write  about  to-night !  I  can't 
keep  my  eyes  open.  I  will,  therefore,  close  my 
note-book  and  lie  down  to  sleep — perhaps  to  be 
sufi'ocated  !     I  hope  not !" 

Accordingly,  our  young  friend  the  doctor  did 
lie  down  to  sleep,  and  got  through  the  night  with- 
out being  suffocated.  Indeed  he  slept  so  soundly 
that  Captain  Harvey  could  scarcely  rouse  him  next 
morning. 

"  HaUo  !  Tom  !  Tom  !"  cried  he  loudly,  at  the 
same  time  shaking  his  nephew's  arm  violently. 

*'  Ay !  eh  !"  and  a  tremendous  yawn  from 
Tom.  "  What  now,  uncle.  Time  to  rise,  is  it  1 
where  am  I  ]" 

"  Time  to  rise,"  replied  the  captain,  laughing, 
"  I  should  think  it  is.  Why,  it's  past  eleven  in 
the  forenoon.  The  stars  are  bright  and  the  sky 
clear.  The  aurora,  too,  is  shining.  Come,  get 
up  !     The  natives  are  all  outside  watching  Sam 


102  FAST  IN  THE  TCE. 

while  he  packs  our  sledge.  The  ladies  are  going 
about  the  camp  whisking  their  tails  and  whacking 
their  babies  in  great  glee,  for  it  is  not  every  day 
they  enjoy  such  a  feed  as  they  had  last  night." 

In  half  au  hour  they  were  ready.  The  whole 
village  turned  out  to  see  them  start.  Myouk, 
with  his  wife  Oomia,  and  the  baby,  and  his  son 
Meetek,  accompanied  them  to  Refuge  Harbour. 
Oomia's  baby  was  part  of  herself  She  could  not 
move  without  it  !  It  was  always  naked,  but, 
being  stuffed  into  the  hood  of  its  mother's  fur 
coat,  it  seemed  always  warm. 

"  I  say,  Tom,  what's  that  up  in  the  sky  ?"  said 
Captain  Harvey  suddenly,  after  they  had  been 
driving  for  a  couple  of  hours.  "  It's  the  strangest 
looking  thing  I  ever  did  see." 

"  So  it  is,"  replied  Gregory,  gazing  intently  at 
the  object  in  question,  which  seemed  high  up  in 
the  air.  "  It  can't  be  a  comet  because  it  gives 
no  light." 

"  Perhaps  not,  but  it  has  got  a  tail,  that's  a 
fact,"  said  Baker  in  a  voice  of  surprise.  "  Who 
ever  heard  of  a  dark,  four-cornered  star  with  a 
tail  1  If  I  had  seen  it  in  daylight,  and  in  Merry 
England,  I  would  have  said  it  was  a  kite  !" 

"  A  kite  !  nonsense,"  cried  the  captain,  "  what 
in  the  world  can  it  be  1" 

Reader,  you  shall  find  that  out  in  the  next 
chapter. 


KSQUIMAUX   VlI.I.Ar.R. 


f 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  103 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  TALE  OF  A  KITE A  GREAT  BEAR-FIGHT, 

WHEN  Mr.  Mansell  was  left  in  charge  of  the 
brig,  a  heavy  weight  lay  on  his  heart,  and 
he  could  by  no  means  take  part  in  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  theatricals  which  occupied  the  rest 
of  the  crew.  He  felt  that  life  or  death  depended 
on  the  success  of  the  captain  in  his  search  for 
fresh  meat.  Already  most  of  the  men  were  ill 
with  scurvy,  and  some  of  them  were  alarm- 
ingly low.  Nothing  could  save  them  but  fresh 
meat,  and  when  the  first  mate  thought  of  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  of  a  journey  on  the  floes 
in  such  weather,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  Eski- 
mos being  discovered,  his  heart  misgave  him. 

About  an  hour  after  the  departure  of  Captain 
Harvey  on  the  Monday  morning  he  took  Davy 
Butts  aside. 

"  Davy,"  said  he,  "  you've  been  at  work  on 
these  kites  a  long  time.  Are  they  nearly 
finished  V 

"  Quite  finished,  sir,"  answered  Butts 


104 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


"  Then  get  them  up,  for  there  is  a  good  breeze. 
I  shall  try  them  on  our  small  sledges.  It  will  at 
least  stir  up  and  amuse  the  men." 

Ten  minutes  after  this,  the  crew  were  sum- 
moned on  deck  to  witness  an  experiment.  A 
small  dog  sledge  lay  on  the  hard  snow  beside  the 
vessel,  and  near  to  this  Davy  Butts  and  Mr.  Dicey 
were  holding  on  to  a  stout  line,  at  the  end  of 
which  an  enormous  kite  was  pulling. 

This  kite  was  square  in  shape,  made  of  the 
thickest  brown  paper,  and  nearly  sis  feet  across. 
That  its  power  was  great  was  evident  from  the 
difficulty  with  which  the  two  men  held  it.  The 
end  of  the  line  was  fastened  to  the  sledge. 

"Now,  boys,  ease  off  line  tUl  it  is  taut,  and 
then  wait  for  the  word,"  said  Davy  Butts,  jump- 
ing on  to  the  sledge.      "  Now — Let  go  !" 

Away  went  the  sledge  over  the  hard  snow  at 
the  rate  of  three  mUes  an  hour,  which  soon  in- 
creased to  double  that  rate.  Davy  cheered  and 
waved  his  arms.  The  men  gave  one  loud  "  hur- 
rah" of  surprise  and  delight  and  set  off  in  mad 
pursuit.  They  were  soon  left  behind.  "  Hold  on, 
Davy  !"  "  Good-bye,  Butts."  "  Look  out,  mind 
the  ridge  !" 

The  last  warning  was  needful.  The  sledge  was 
rushing  furiously  towards  a  long  ridge  of  ice 
which  rose  in  a  sharp  slope  to  a  height  of  three 
feet,  and  descended  on  the  other  side  to  an  equal 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  105 

depth,  but  without  any  slope.  Davy  saw  his 
danger,  but  he  did  not  dare  to  put  out  foot  or 
hand  to  check  his  progress.  Even  if  he  had  it 
would  have  been  of  no  use.  Up  the  slope  he 
went  as  a  sea-gull  skims  over  a  wave  ;  for  one 
moment  he  was  in  the  air — the  next,  he  came 
down  with  a  crash  that  nearly  dislocated  all  his 
joints,  and  his  teeth  came  together  with  a  loud 
snap.  (By  good  fortune  his  tongue  was  not  be- 
tween them  !)  The  sledge  was  a  strong  one,  and 
the  thing  was  done  so  quickly  and  neatly  that  it 
did  not  upset.  But  now  a  large  and  rugged  hum- 
mock lay  right  before  him.  To  go  agaiust  that 
would  have  been  certain  death,  so  Davy  made  up 
his  mind  at  once  and  jumped  off  at  the  smoothest 
part  of  the  floe  he  could  find.  The  lightened 
sledge  sprang  away  like  a  rocket  and  was  brought 
up  with  a  sudden  jerk  by  the  hummock. 

Of  course  the  line  broke,  and  the  kite  com- 
menced to  descend.  It  twirled  and  circled  vio- 
lently round  and  at  last  went  crash  into  an 
ice-berg,  where  it  was  broken  to  pieces  ! 

"Not  so  bad  for  a  beginning,"  said  Mansell, 
as  poor  Davy  came  back,  looking  very  crest-fallen. 
"  Now,  Butts,  come  below.  You  have  proved  that 
the  thing  will  do.  Mr.  Dicey,  get  yourself  ready 
for  a  trip  over  the  ice.  Let  three  men  prepare 
to  accompany  you.  I  shall  send  you  off  to- 
morrow." 


106  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

Dicey,  much  surprised,  went  off  to  obey  these 
orders  ;  and  Mansell  with  the  assistance  of  Butts 
fitted  the  second  kite  for  the  intended  journey. 
He  made  a  rough  guess  at  the  strength  of  its  pull, 
and  loaded  the  sledge  accordingly.  Two  tail  ropes 
were  fastened  to  the  last  bar  of  the  sledge  for  the 
men  to  hold  on  by  and  check  its  speed.  A  sort 
of  anchor  was  made  by  which  it  could  be  stopped 
at  any  moment,  and  two  stout  poles  with  iron 
claws  at  the  end  of  them  were  prepared  for  scrap- 
ing over  the  snow  and  checking  the  pace. 

Next  day  aU  was  ready.  A  trial  was  made, 
and  the  thing  found  to  work  admirably.  The  trial 
trip  over  they  bade  their  comrades  farewell,  and 
away  they  went  due  south,  in  the  direction  where 
the  native  village  was  supposed  to  be. 

It  was  this  remarkable  tow-horse  that  had  filled 
Captain  Harvey  and  his  companions  with  so  much 
surprise.  The  appearance  of  the  sledge  imme- 
diately after  with  a  shout  and  a  cheer  from  Dicey 
and  the  men  explained  the  mystery. 

Being  so  near  the  Eskimo  camp  they  at  once 
returned  to  it,  in  order  to  allow  the  newly  arrived 
party  to  rest,  as  well  as  to  load  their  sledge  with 
as  much  fresh  meat  as  it  could  carry  ;  for  which 
supplies  the  captain  took  care  to  pay  the  natives 
with  a  few  knives  and  a  large  quantity  of  hoop- 
iron — articles  that  were  much  more  valuable  to 
them  than  gold.     As  the  wind  could  not  be  made 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  107 

to  turn  about  to  suit  tlieir  convenience,  the  kite 
was  brought  down  and  given  to  Davy  to  carry,  and 
a  team  of  native  dogs  were  harnessed  to  the  sledge 
instead.  On  the  following  day  the  united  party 
set  out  ou  their  return  to  the  brig,  which  they 
reached  in  safety. 

Tom  Gregory's  account  of  the  Eskimos  who 
accompanied  them  to  their  wooden  home  is  amus- 
ing.     His  journal  runs  thus — 

"  The  amazement  of  our  visitors  is  very  great. 
Myouk,  his  wife  and  baby,  and  his  son  Meetek, 
are  now  our  guests.  When  they  first  came  in 
sight  of  the  brig  they  uttered  a  wild  shout — the 
men  did  so,  at  least — and  tossed  their  arms  and 
opened  their  eyes  and  mouths.  They  have  never 
shut  them  since.  They  go  all  round  the  vessel 
staring  and  gaping  with  amazement.  We  have 
given  them  a  number  of  useful  presents,  and  in- 
tend to  send  them  home  loaded  with  gifts  for 
their  friends.  It  is  necessary  to  make  a  good 
impression  on  them.  Our  lives  depend  very  much 
on  the  friendship  of  these  poor  people.  We  find 
that  they  are  terrible  thieves.  A  number  of 
knives  and  a  hatchet  were  missed — they  were 
found  hidden  in  Myouk's  sledge.  We  tried  to 
prevail  on  Oomia  to  sell  her  long  boots.  To  our 
surprise  she  was  quite  willing  to  part  with  one, 
but  nothing  would  induce  her  to  give  up  the  other. 
One  of  the  men  observed  her  steal  a  knife  out  of 


108 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


the  cabin  and  hide  it  in  the  leg  of  her  boot.  The 
reason  was  now  plain.  We  pulled  off  the  boot 
without  asking  leave  and  found  there  a  large 
assortment  of  articles  stolen  from  us.  Two  or 
three  knives,  a  spoon,  a  bit  of  hoop-iron,  and  a 
marline  spike.  I  have  tried  to  make  them  under- 
stand by  signs  that  this  is  very  wicked  conduct,  but 
they  only  laugh  at  me.  They  are  not  in  the  least 
ashamed,  and  evidently  regard  stealing  as  no  sin. 

"  We  have  shot  a  musk  ox.  There  are  many 
of  these  creatures  in  other  parts  of  the  Arctic 
regions,  but  this  is  the  first  we  have  seen  here. 
He  fell  to  my  rifle,  and  is  now  being  devoured  by 
ourselves  and  our  dogs  with  great  relish.  He  is 
about  the  size  of  a  very  small  cow  ;  has  a  large 
head  and  enormously  thick  horns  which  cover  the 
whole  top  of  his  head,  bend  down  towards  his 
cheeks,  and  then  curve  up  and  outwards  at  the 
point.  He  is  covered  with  long  brown  hair,  which 
almost  reaches  the  ground,  and  has  no  tail  worthy 
of  the  name.  He  seems  to  be  an  active  and  an 
angry  creature.  When  I  wounded  him  he  came 
at  me  furiously,  but  had  not  pluck  to  charge 
home.  As  he  turned  away  I  gave  him  the  shot 
that  killed  him.  The  meat  is  not  bad,  but  it 
smells  strongly  of  musk.     Walrus  is  better. 

"  Myouk  and  his  son  Meetek  and  I  have  had  a 
most  exciting  bear-hunt  since  we  returned.  I 
followed  these  men  one  day,  as  I  thought  them 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  109 

bold  active-looking  fellows  who  would  be  likely  to 
show  me  good  Eskimo  sport.  And  I  was  not 
disappointed. 

"  About  two  miles  from  the  brig  we  came  on 
fresh  bear  tracks.  A  glow  of  the  aurora  gave  us 
plenty  of  light.  '  What  is  yon  round  white 
lump?'  thought  I.  'A  bear  1  No,  it  must  be  a 
snow-wreath  !'  Myouk  did  not  think  so  for  he 
ran  behind  a  lump  of  ice,  and  became  excited. 
He  made  signs  to  me  to  remain  there  while  he 
and  his  son  should  go  and  attack  the  bear.  They 
were  armed  each  with  a  long  lance.  I  must  say, 
when  I  remembered  the  size  and  strength  of  the 
polar  bear,  that  I  was  surprised  to  find  these  men 
bold  enough  to  attack  him  with  such  arms.  I 
had  my  rifle,  but  determined  not  to  use  it  except 
in  case  of  necessity.  I  wished  to  see  how  the 
natives  were  accustomed  to  act. 

"  They  were  soon  ready.  Gliding  swiftly  from 
one  lump  of  ice  to  another  they  got  near  enough 
to  make  a  rush.  I  was  disobedient  1  I  followed, 
and  when  the  rush  was  made  I  was  not  far  behind 
them.  The  bear  was  a  very  large  one.  It  uttered 
an  angry  growl  on  seeing  the  men  running  to- 
wards it,  and  rose  on  its  hind  legs  to  receive 
them.  It  stood  nearly  eight  feet  high  when  in 
this  position,  and  looked  really  a  terrible  monster. 
I  stood  still  behind  a  hummock  at  a  distance  of 
about  fifty  yards  with  my  rifle  ready. 


110 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


"  On  coming  close  up  the  father  and  son  separ- 
ated, and  approached  the  bear  one  on  each  side.  This 
divided  his  attention  and  puzzled  him  very  much ; 
for,  vphen  he  made  a  motion  as  if  he  were  going 
to  rush  at  Myouk,  Meetek  flourished  his  spear  and 
obliged  him  to  turn — then  Myouk  made  a  demon- 
stration and  turned  him  back  again.  Thus  they 
were  enabled  to  get  close  to  its  side  before  it  could 
make  up  its  mind  which  to  attack.  But  the 
natives  soon  settled  the  question  for  it.  Myouk 
was  on  the  bear's  right  side,  Meetek  on  its  left. 
The  father  pricked  it  with  the  point  of  his  lance. 
A  tremendous  roar  followed  and  the  enraged 
animal  turned  tov\fards  him.  This  was  just  what 
he  wanted,  because  it  gave  the  son  an  opportunity 
of  making  a  deadly  thrust.*  Meetek  was  not 
slow  to  do  it.  He  plunged  his  lance  deep  into 
the  bear's  heart  and  it  fell  at  once  at  full  length, 
while  a  crimson  stream  poured  out  of  the  wound 
upon  the  snow. 

"  While  this  fight  was  going  on  I  might  have 
shot  the  animal  through  the  heart  with  great  ease, 
for  it  was  quite  near  to  me,  and  when  it  got  up 
on  its  hind  legs  its  broad  chest  presented  a  fine 
target.  It  was  difficult  to  resist  the  temptation 
to  fire,  but  T  wished  to  see  the  native  manner 
of  doing  the  thing  from  beginning  to  end,  so  did 
not  interfere.  I  was  rewarded  for  my  self-denial. 
*  See  frontispiece. 


II 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  Ill 

"  Half  an  hour  later,  while  we  were  dragging 
the  carcase  towards  the  brig,  we  came  unexpectedly 
upon  another  bear.  Myouk  and  Meetek  at  once 
grasped  their  lances  and  ran  forward  to  attack 
him.  I  now  resolved  to  play  them  a  trick. 
Besides  my  rifle  I  carried  a  large  horse-pistol  in 
my  belt.  This  I  examined,  and,  finding  it  all 
right,  I  followed  close  at  the  heels  of  the  Eskimos. 
Bruin  got  up  on  his  hind  legs  as  before,  and  the 
two  men  advanced  close  to  him.  I  stopped  when 
within  thirty  yards,  cocked  my  rifle  and  stood 
ready.  Myouk  was  just  going  to  thrust  with  liis 
lance  when — bang  1  went  my  rifle.  The  bear  fell. 
It  was  shot  right  through  the  heart,  but  it 
struggled  for  some  time  after  that.  The  natives 
seemed  inclined  to  run  away  when  they  heard  the 
shot,  but  I  laughed  and  made  signs  of  friendship. 
Then  I  went  close  up  and  shot  the  bear  through 
the  head  with  my  pistol.  This  affair  has  filled 
my  savage  companions  with  deep  respect  for  me  !" 

These  two  bears  were  the  last  they  obtained 
that  winter  ;  but  as  a  good  supply  of  meat  had 
been  obtained  from  the  Eskimos  they  were  relieved 
from  anxiety  for  the  time,  and  the  health  of  the 
men  began  to  imjjrove  a  little.  But  this  happy 
state  of  things  did  not  last  till  spring.  These 
sorely  tried  men  were  destined  to  endure  much 
suff"ering  before  the  light  of  the  sun  came  back  to 
cheer  their  drooping  spirits. 


112  -,         FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


^ 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CHRISTMAS  TIME DEATH — EETTJENING  LIGHT  AND 

HOPE — DISASTERS  AND  FINAL  DELIVERANCE. 

CHRISTMAS  came  at  last,  but  with  it  came 
no  bright  sun  to  remind  those  ice-bound 
men  of  our  Saviour — the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness" 
— whose  birth  the  day  commemorated.  It  was 
even  darker  than  usual  in  Refuge  Harbour  on 
that  Christmas-day.  It  was  so  dark  at  noon  that 
one  could  not  see  any  object  more  than  a  few 
yards  distant  from  the  eyes.  A  gale  of  wind  from 
the  nor'-west  blew  the  snow-drift  in  whirling  ghost- 
like clouds  round  the  Hope,  so  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  face  it  for  a  moment.  So  intense  was 
the  cold  that  it  felt  like  sheets  of  fire  being  driven 
against  the  face  !  Truly  it  was  a  day  well  fitted 
to  have  depressed  the  heartiest  of  men.  But  man 
is  a  wonderful  creature,  not  easy  to  comprehend  ! 
The  very  things  that  ought  to  have  cast  down  the 
spirits  of  the  men  of  the  Hope,  were  the  things 
that  helped  tc  cheer  them. 

About  this  time,  as  I  have  said,  the  health  of 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  113 

the  crew  had  improved  a  little,  so  they  were  pre- 
pared to  make  the  most  of  every thiug.  Those 
feelings  of  kindliness  and  good-will  which  warm 
the  breasts  of  all  right-minded  men  at  this  season 
of  the  year,  filled  our  Arctic  voyagers  to  overflow- 
ing. Thoughts  of  "home"  came  crowding  on 
them  with  a  power  that  they  had  not  felt  at 
other  times.  Each  man  knew  that  on  this  day, 
more  than  any  other  day  of  that  long  dark  winter, 
the  talk  round  a  well-known  hearth  in  Merry 
England  would  be  of  one  who  was  far  far  away  in 
the  dark  regions  of  ice  and  snow,  A  tear  or  two 
that  could  not  be  forced  back  tumbled  over  rough 
cheeks  which  were  not  used  to  that  kind  of  salt 
water ;  and  many  a  silent  prayer  went  up  to 
call  down  a  blessing  on  the  heads  of  dear  ones  at 
home. 

It  blew  "  great  guns  outside,"  as  Baker  said, 
but  what  of  that  ]  it  was  a  dead  calm  in  the 
cabin  !  It  was  dark  as  a  coal-hole  on  the  floes. 
What  then  ?  it  was  bright  as  noon-day  in  the 
Hope  !  No  sun  blazed  through  the  sky-light, 
to  be  sure,  but  a  lamp,  filled  with  fat,  glared  on 
the  table  and  a  great  fire  of  coal  glowed  in  the 
stove.  Both  of  these  together  did  not  make  the 
place  too  warm,  but  there  were  fur  coats  and 
trousers  and  boots  to  help  to  defy  the  cold.  The 
men  were  few  in  number  and  not  likely  to  see 
many  friends  on  that  Christmas-day.      All  the 


114 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


more  reason  why  they  should  make  the  most  of 
each  other  !  Besides,  thsy  were  wrong  in  their 
last  idea  about  friends,  for  it  chanced,  on  that  very 
day,  that  Myouk  the  Eskimo  paid  them  a  visit — 
quite  ignorant  of  its  being  Christmas  of  course. 
Meetek  was  with  him,  and  so  was  Oomia,  and  so 
was  the  baby — that  remarkably  fat,  oily,  naked 
baby,  that  seemed  rather  to  enjoy  the  cold  than 
otherwise  ! 

They  had  a  plum-pudding  that  day.  Butts 
said  it  was  almost  as  big  as  the  head  of  a  walrus. 
They  had  also  a  roast  of  beef — walrus  beef  of 
course — and  first-rate  it  was.  But  before  dinner 
the  captain  made  them  go  through  their  usual 
morning  work  of  cleaning,  airing,  making  beds, 
posting  journals,  noting  temperatures,  opening  the 
fire-hole,  and  redding  up.  For  the  captain  was  a 
great  believer  in  the  value  of  discipline.  He 
knew  that  no  man  enjoys  himself  so  much  as  he 
who  has  got  through  his  work  early — who  has 
done  his  duty.  It  did  not  take  them  long,  and 
when  it  was  done,  the  captain  said,  "  Now,  boys, 
we  must  be  joUy  to-day.  As  we  can't  get  out  we 
must  take  some  exercise  indoors.  We  shall  need 
extra  appetite  to  make  away  with  that  plum- 
pudding." 

So,  at  it  they  went  !  Every  sort  of  game  or 
feat  of  strength  known  to  sailors  was  played,  or 
attempted.      It  was  in  the  middle  of  all  this  that 


FAST  m  THE  ICE,  115 

Myouk  and  his  family  arrived,  so  they  were  com- 
pelled to  join.  Even  the  fat  baby  was  put  into  a 
blanket  and  swung  round  the  cabin  by  Jim  Croft, 
to  the  horror  of  its  mother,  who  seemed  to  think 
it  would  be  killed,  and  to  the  delight  of  its  father, 
who  didn't  seem  to  care  whether  it  was  killed  or 
not. 

Then  came  the  dinner.  What  a  scene  that  was, 
to  be  sure  !  It  would  take  a  whole  book  to  de- 
scribe all  that  was  said  and  done  that  day.  The 
Eskimos  ate  till  they  coiild  hardly  stand — that 
was  their  usual  custom.  Then  they  lay  down  and 
went  to  sleep — that  was  their  usual  custom  too. 
The  rest  ate  as  heartily,  poor  fellows,  as  was  pos- 
sible for  men  not  yet  quite  recovered  from  scurvy. 
They  had  no  wine,  but  they  had  excellent  coffee, 
and  with  this  they  drank  to  absent  friends,  sweet- 
hearts and  wives,  and  many  other  toasts,  the  mere 
mention  of  which  raised  such  strong  home-feelings 
in  their  breasts  that  some  of  them  almost  choked 
in  the  attempt  to  cheer.  Then  came  songs  and 
stories — all  of  them  old,  very  old  indeed — but 
they  came  out  on  this  occasion  as  good  as  new. 
The  great  event  of  the  evening,  however,  was  a 
fancy  ball,  in  which  our  friends  Butts,  Baker, 
Gregory,  and  Pepper  distinguished  themselves. 
They  had  a  fiddle,  and  Dawkins  the  steward  could 
play  it.  He  knew  nothing  but  Scotch  reels  ; 
but  what  could  have  been  better  1     They  could 


116 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 


all  dance,  or,  if  they  could  not,  they  all  tried. 
Myouk  and  Meetek  were  made  to  join  and  they 
capered  as  gracefully  as  polar  bears,  which  ani- 
mals they  strongly  resembled  in  their  hairy  gar- 
ments. Late  in  the  evening  came  supper.  It  was 
just  a  repetition  of  dinner,  with  the  remains  of  the 
pudding  fried  in  bear's  grease. 

Thus  passed  Christmas  Day  ;  much  in  the  same 
way  passed  New  Year's  Day.  Then  the  men 
settled  down  to  their  old  style  of  life  ;  but  the 
time  hung  so  heavy  on  their  hands  that  their 
spirits  began  to  sink  again.  The  long  darkness 
became  intolerable  and  the  fresh  meat  began  to 
fail.  Everything  with  life  seemed  to  have  for- 
saken the  place.  The  captain  made  another  trip 
to  the  Eskimo  village  and  found  the  huts  empty 
— the  whole  race  had  flown,  he  knew  not  whither  ! 
The  private  theatricals  were  at  first  very  success- 
ful ;  but  by  degrees  they  lost  their  interest  and 
were  given  up.  Then  a  school  was  started  and 
Gregory  became  head  master.  Writing  and  arith- 
metic were  the  only  branches  taught.  Some  of 
the  men  were  much  in  need  of  instruction,  and  all 
of  them  took  to  the  school  with  energy  and  much 
delight.  It  lasted  longer  than  the  theatricals  did. 
As  time  wore  on  the  fresh  meat  was  finished, 
scurvy  became  worse  ;  and  it  was  as  much  as  the 
men  who  were  not  quite  knocked  down  could  do 
to  attend  to  those  who  were.     Day  after  day  Tom 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  117 

Gregory  and  Sam  Baker  went  out  to  hunt  and  each 
day  returned  empty-handed.  Sometimes  an  Arctic 
hare  or  a  fox  was  got ;  but  not  often.  At  last  rats 
were  eaten  as  food.  These  creatures  swarmed  in 
the  hold  of  the  brig.  They  were  caught  in  traps 
and  shot  with  a  bow  and  a  blunt- headed  arrow. 
But  few  of  the  men  would  eat  them.  The  captain 
urged  them  to  do  so  in  vain.  Those  who  did  eat 
kept  in  better  health  than  those  who  did  not. 

At  last  death  came.  Mr.  ]\Iausell  sank  beneath 
the  terrible  disease  and  was  buried  on  the  island. 
No  grave  could  be  dug  in  that  hard  frozen  soil. 
The  burial  service  was  read  by  his  sorrowing  com- 
rades over  his  body,  which  was  frozen  quite  hard 
before  they  reached  the  grave,  and  then  they  laid 
it  in  a  tomb  of  ice. 

Time  hung  hea\-ier  than  ever  after  that.  Death 
is  at  all  times  a  terrible  visitant,  but  in  such  a 
place  and  in  such  circumstances  it  was  tenfold 
more  awful  than  usual.  The  blank  in  so  smaU  a 
band  was  a  great  one.  It  would  perhaps  have 
depressed  them  more  than  it  did  had  their  own 
situation  been  less  desperate.  But  they  had  too 
fierce  a  battle  to  fight  with  disease,  and  the  mid- 
night gloom,  and  the  bitter  frost,  to  give  way  to 
much  feeling  alx)ut  him  who  was  gone. 

Thus  the  long  winter  passed  heavily  away. 

The  sun  came  back  at  last,  and  when  he  came 
his  beams  shone  upon  a  pale,  shattered  and  hearts 

Q 


1 1 8  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

weary  band  of  men.  But  with  his  cheering  light 
came  also  hope,  and  health  soon  followed  in  his 
train.  Let  young  Gregory's  journal  tell  the  rest 
of  our  story,  little  of  which  now  remains  to  be 
told. 

^^  February  21s<. — I  have  to  record,  with  joy 
and  gratitude,  that  the  sun  shone  on  the  peaks  of 
the  ice-bergs  to-day.  The  first  time  it  has  done 
so  since  October  last.  By  the  end  of  this  month 
we  shall  have  his  rays  on  deck.  I  climbed  to  the 
top  of  a  berg  and  actually  bathed  in  sunshine  this 
forenoon  !  We  are  all  quite  excited  by  the  event, 
some  of  us  even  look  joUy.  Ah  !  what  miserable 
faces  my  comrades  have  !  so  pale,  so  thin  !  We 
are  all  as  weak  as  water.  The  captain  and  I  are 
the  strongest.  Baker  is  also  pretty  well.  Crofts 
and  Davis  are  almost  useless,  the  rest  are  quite 
helpless.  The  captain  cooks.  Baker  and  I  hunt. 
Crofts  and  Davis  attend  to  the  sick.  Another 
month  of  darkness  would  have  killed  the  half 
of  us. 

"  March  \Oth. — I  shot  a  bear  to-day.  It  did 
my  heart  good  to  see  the  faces  of  the  men  when 
I  brought  them  the  news  and  a  piece  of  the 
flesh  !  The  cold  is  not  quite  so  intense  now. 
Our  coldest  day  this  year  has  been  the  17th  of 
January.  The  glass  stood  at  67°  below  zero  on 
that  morning.  What  a  winter  we  have  had  !  I 
shudder  when  I  think  of  it.     But  there  is  more 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  119 

cause  to  be  anxious  about  what  yet  lies  before  us. 
A  single  bear  will  not  last  long.  Many  weeks 
must  pass  before  we  are  free.  In  June  we  hope 
to  be  released  from  our  ice-prison.  Fresh  meat 
we  shall  then  have  in  abundance.  With  it  strength 
will  return,  and  then,  if  God  permits,  we  shall 
attempt  to  continue  our  voyage  northward.  The 
captain  is  confident  on  the  point  of  open  water 
round  the  Pole.  The  men  are  game  for  anything 
in  spite  of  their  sad  condition." 

Thus  wrote  Gregory  at  that  date.  Many  weeks 
later  we  find  him  writing  as  follows  : — 

"  June  I5th. — Free  at  last !  The  ice  has  been 
breaking  up  out  at  sea  for  some  time  past.  It 
gave  way  in  Refuge  Harbour  yesterday  and  we 
warped  out  in  the  night.  Everything  is  ready  to 
push  north  again.  We  have  been  feeding  heartily 
for  many  weeks  on  walrus,  seals,  wild-fowl,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  on  some  grasses  which  make 
had  greens,  but  they  have  put  scurvy  to  flight. 
All  the  men  are  well  and  strong  and  fit  for  hard 
work — though  nothing  like  what  they  were  when 
we  first  came  here.  Could  it  be  otherwise  1 
There  are  some  of  us  who  will  carry  the  marks  of 
this  winter  to  our  graves.  The  bright  beautiful 
sunhght  shines  now,  all  day  and  all  night,  cheer- 
ing our  hearts  and  inspiring  hope. 

''June  I6ih. — All  is  lost!  How  little  we 
know  what  a  day  may  bring  forth  !     Our  good 


120  FAST  IN  THE  ICE, 

little  brig  is  gone,  and  we  are  here  on  the  ica 
without  a  thing  in  the  world  except  the  clothes  on 
our  backs.  I  have  saved  my  note-book,  which 
chanced  to  be  in  my  breast-pocket  when  the  nip 
took  place.  How  awfully  sudden  it  was  !  We 
now  appreciate  the  wise  forethought  of  Captain 
Harvey  in  sending  the  large  boat  to  Forlorn-Hope 
Bay.  This  boat  is  our  last  and  only  hope.  We 
shall  have  to  walk  forty  miles  before  we  reach  it. 
"  Our  brig  went  down  at  three  o'clock  this 
afternoon.  We  had  warped  out  irrto  the  floes  to 
catch  a  light  breeze  that  was  blowing  outside.  For 
some  time  we  held  on  steadily  to  the  northward, 
but  had  not  got  out  of  sight  of  our  winter  quarters 
when  a  stream  of  ice  set  down  upon  us  and  closed 
in  all  round.  At  first  we  thought  nothing  of  this, 
having  escaped  so  many  dangers  of  the  kind  last 
autumn,  but  by  degrees  the  pressure  increased 
alarmingly.  We  were  jammed  against  a  great  ice- 
field which  was  still  fast  to  the  shore.  In  a  few 
moments  the  sides  of  our  little  vessel  began  to  creak 
and  groan  loudly.  The  men  laboured  like  tigers  at 
the  ice-poles,  but  in  vain.  We  heard  a  loud  re- 
port in  the  cabin.  No  one  knows  what  it  was, 
but  I  suppose  it  must  have  been  the  breaking  of 
a  large  bolt.  At  any  rate  it  was  followed  by  a 
series  of  crashes  and  reports  that  left  no  doubt  in 
our  minds  as  to  what  was  going  on.  The  ice  was 
cracking  the  brig  as  if  she  had  been  a  nut-shelL 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  121 

"  Save  yourselves,  lads  ! "  cried  the  captain.  One 
or  two  of  the  men  made  a  rush  to  the  hatchway- 
intending  to  run  below  and  save  some  of  their 
things.  I  ran  to  the  cabin-ladder  in  the  hope  of 
saving  our  log-book  and  journals,  but  we  all 
started  back  in  horror,  for  the  deck  at  that  moment 
burst  open  almost  under  our  feet.  I  cast  one  glance 
down  through  the  opening  into  the  hold.  That  glance 
was  sufficient.  The  massive  timbers  and  beams 
were  being  crushed  together,  doubled  up,  split,  and 
shivered,  as  if  they  had  been  rotten  straws  !  In 
another  moment  I  was  on  the  ice,  where  the  whole 
crew  were  assembled  looking  on  at  the  work  of 
destruction  in  solemn  silence. 

"  After  bursting  in  the  vessel's  sides  the  ice 
eased  off  and  she  at  once  began  to  settle  down. 
We  could  hear  the  water  rushing  furiously  into 
the  hold.  Ten  minutes  later,  she  was  gone  !  Thus 
end  our  hopes  of  farther  discoveiy,  and  we  are  now 
left  to  fight  our  way  in  an  open  boat  to  the  settle- 
ments on  the  south  coast  of  Greenland.  We  have 
little  time  to  think.  Prompt  action  must  be  our 
watchword  now  if  we  would  escape  from  this 
world  of  ice. 

'■'■July  20th. — I  have  not  entered  a  line  in  this 
journal  since  our  vessel  was  lost.  Our  work  has 
been  so  severe  and  our  sufferings  so  great  that  I 
have  had  no  heart  for  writing.  Our  walk  to  the 
place  where  we  left  the  boat  was  a  hard  one,  but 


122  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

we  were  cheered  by  finding  the  boat  all  safe  and 
the  provisions  and  stores  just  as  we  left  them. 
There  was  not  enough  to  last  out  the  voyage,  but 
we  had  guns  and  powder.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt 
to  describe  the  events  of  the  last  few  weeks. 
Constant  and  hard  and  cold  work — at  the  oars, 
with  the  ice-poles — warping,  hauling,  and  shoving. 
Beset  by  ice  ;  driving  before  storms  ;  detained  by 
thick  fogs  ;  often  wet  to  the  skin  ;  always  tired, 
almost  starving — such  has  been  our  fate  since  that 
sad  day  when  our  brig  went  down.  And  yet  I 
don't  think  there  is  one  of  our  party  who  would 
not  turn  about  on  the  spot  and  renew  our  voyage 
of  discovery  if  he  only  got  a  chance  of  going  in  a 
well-appointed  vessel.  As  it  is,  we  must  push  on. 
Home  !  home  !  is  our  cry  now. 

'■'^  August  \st. — We  are  now  in  clover,  after 
having  been  reduced  to  think  of  roasting  our  shoes 
for  breakfast.  For  three  days  last  week  we  ate 
nothing  at  all.  Our  powder  has  been  expended 
for  some  weeks  past.  On  Monday  we  finished  our 
last  morsel  of  the  gull  that  Pepper  managed  to 
bring  down  with  a  stone.  Tuesday  was  a  terrible 
day.  The  agony  of  hunger  was  worse  than  I  had 
expected  it  to  be.  Nevertheless,  we  tried  hard 
to  cheer  each  other,  as  we  laboured  at  the  oars. 
Our  only  hope  was  to  fall  in  with  natives.  Signs 
of  them  were  seen  everywhere,  and  we  expected  to 
hear  their  shouts  at  every  point  of  land  we  doubled. 


FAST  IN  THE  ICE.  123 

The  captain  suggested  that  we  should  try  shoe-soup 
ou  Wednesday  morning  !  He  was  more  than  half 
in  earnest,  but  spoke  as  if  he  were  jesting.  Pepper 
cocked  his  ears  as  if  there  was  some  hope  still  of 
work  for  him  to  do  in  his  own  line.  Jim  Crofts 
pulled  off  his  shoe,  and,  looking  at  it  earnestly, 
wondered  if  the  sole  would  make  a  very  tough 
chop.  We  all  laughed,  but  I  cannot  say  that  the 
laugh  sounded  hearty.  On  the  Thursday  I  began 
to  feel  weak,  but  the  pangs  of  hunger  were  not  so 
bad.  Our  eyes  seemed  very  large  and  wolfish. 
I  could  not  help  shuddering  when  I  thought  of  the 
terrible  things  that  men  have  done  when  reduced 
to  this  state. 

"  That  evening  as  we  rounded  a  point  we  saw 
an  Eskimo  boy  high  on  a  cliff  with  a  net  in  his 
hand.  He  did  not  see  us  for  some  time,  and  we 
were  so  excited  that  we  stopped  rowing  to  watch 
him  in  breathless  silence.  Thousands  of  birds 
were  flying  round  his  head  among  the  cliffs. 
How  often  we  had  tried  to  kill  some  of  these  with 
sticks  and  stones,  in  vain  !  The  net  he  held  was 
a  round  one  with  a  long  handle.  Suddenly  he 
made  a  dashing  sweep  with  it  and  caught  two  of 
the  birds  as  tliey  passed  !  We  now  saw  that  a 
number  of  dead  birds  lay  at  his  feet.  In  one 
moment  our  boat  was  ashore  and  we  scrambled 
up  the  cliffs  in  eager  haste.  The  boy  fled  in  terror, 
but  before  he  was  well  out  of  sight  every  man  was 


124  FAST  IN  THE  ICE. 

seated  on  a  ledge  of  rock  with  a  bird  at  his  mouth 
sucking  the  blood  !  Hunger  like  ours  despises 
cookery  !  It  was  fortunate  that  there  were  not 
many  birds,  else  we  should  have  done  ourselves 
harm  by  eating  too  much.  I  have  eaten  many  a 
good  meal  in  my  life,  but  never  one  so  sweet,  or 
for  which  I  was  so  thankful,  as  that  meal  of  raw 
birds  devoured  on  the  cliffs  of  Greenland  ! 

"  That  night  we  reached  the  Eskimo  village, 
where  we  now  lie.  We  find  that  it  is  only  two 
days'  journey  from  this  place  to  the  Danish  settle- 
ments. There  we  mean  to  get  on  board  the  first 
ship  that  is  bound  for  Europe — no  matter  what 
port  she  sails  for.  Meanwhile  we  rest  our  weary 
limbs  in  peace,  for  our  dangers  are  past  and — 
thanks  be  to  God — we  are  saved." 

tjS  ^  SjS  Sjt 

Reader,  my  tale  is  told.  A  little  book  cannot 
be  made  to  contain  a  long  story,  else  would  I  have 
narrated  many  more  of  the  strange  and  interesting 
events  that  befel  our  adventurers  during  that  voy- 
age. But  enough  has  been  written  to  give  some 
idea  of  what  is  done  and  sufiered  by  those  daring 
men  who  attempt  to  navigate  the  Polar  seas. 


il'l  I'M" 

C 

Z 

< 

U 

c 

1 

z 

< 

< 

E 

^c 

> 

u; 

THE 

ISLANDS. 


THE   CANNIBAL   ISLANDS 


OR 


CAPTAIN    COOK'S    ADVENTURES    IN    THE 
SOUTH  SEAS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

A   HERO  WHO   ROSE  FROM   THE   RANKS. 

MORE  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  there  lived 
a  man  who  dwelt  in  a  mud  cottage  in 
the  county  of  York ;  his  name  was  Cook.  He 
was  a  poor,  honest  labourer — a  farm  servant. 
This  man  was  the  father  of  that  James  Cook 
who  lived  to  be  a  captain  in  the  British  Navy, 
and  who,  before  he  was  killed,  became  one  of 
the  best  and  greatest  navigators  that  ever 
spread  his  sails  to  the  breeze  and  crossed  the 
stormy  sea. 

Captain  Cook  was  a  true  hero.  His  name 
is  known  throughout  the  whole  world  wherever 
books  are  read.  He  was  born  in  the  lowest 
condition   of  life,  and   raised   himself  to  the 


8  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

highest  point  of  fame.  He  was  a  self-taught 
man  too.  No  large  sums  of  money  or 
long  years  of  time  were  spent  upon  his 
schooling.  No  college  education  made  him 
what  he  was.  An  old  woman  taught  him  his 
letters,  but  he  was  not  sent  to  school  till  he 
was  thirteen  years  of  age.  He  remained  only 
four  years  at  the  village  school,  where  he 
learned  a  little  writing  and  a  little  figuring. 
This  was  all  he  had  to  start  with.  The  know- 
ledge which  he  afterwards  acquired  ;  the  great 
deeds  that  he  performed,  and  the  wonderful 
discoveries  that  he  made,  were  all  owing  to 
the  sound  brain,  the  patient  persevering  spirit, 
the  modest  practical  nature,  and  the  good  stout 
arm  with  which  the  Almighty  had  blessed  him. 
It  is  the  glory  of  England  that  many  of  her 
greatest  men  have  risen  from  the  ranks  of 
those  sons  of  toil  who  earn  their  daily  bread 
in  the  sweat  of  their  brow.  Among  all  who 
have  thus  risen,  few  stand  so  high  as  Captain 
Cook. 

Many  bold  things  he  did,  many  strange 
regions  he  visited,  in  his  voyages  round  the 
world,  the  records  of  which  fill  bulky  volumes. 
In  this  little  book  we  shall  confine  our  attention 
to  seme  of  the  interesting  discoveries  that  were 
made  by  him  among  the  romantic  islands  of 
the  south  Pacific, — islands  which  are  so  beauti- 
ful that  they  have  been  aptly  styled  "gems  of 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  9 

ocean,"  but  which,  nevertheless,  are  inhabited 
by  savage  races  so  thoroughly  addicted  to  the 
terrible  practice  of  eating  human  flesh,  that 
we  have  thought  fit  to  adopt  the  other  and  not 
less  appropriate  name  of  the  Cannibal  Islands. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  narrative,  let  us 
glance  briefly  at  the  early  career  of  Captain 
James  Cook.  He  was  born  in  1728.  After 
receiving  the  very  slight  education  already  re- 
ferred to,  he  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  shop- 
keeper. But  the  roving  spirit  within  him 
soon  caused  him  to  break  away  from  an  occu- 
pation so  uncongenial.  He  passed  little  more 
than  a  year  behind  the  counter,  and  then,  in 
1746,  went  to  sea. 

Young  Cook's  first  voyages  were  in  con- 
nexion with  the  coasting  trade.  He  began  his 
career  in  a  collier  trading  between  London  and 
Newcastle.  In  a  very  short  time  it  became 
evident  that  he  would  soon  be  a  rising  man. 
Promotion  came  rapidly.  Little  more  than 
three  years  after  the  expiry  of  his  apprentice- 
ship he  became  mate  of  the  Friendship,  but, 
a  few  years  later,  he  turned  a  longing  eye  on 
the  navy — "  having,"  as  he  himself  said,  "  a 
mind  to  try  his  fortune  that  way."  In  the 
year  1755  he  entered  the  King's  service  on 
board  the  Eagle,  a  sixty  gun  ship,  commanded 
by  Sir  Hugh  Palliser.  This  officer  was  one  of 
Cook's  warmest  friends  through  life. 


10  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

In  the  navy  the  young  sailor  displayed  the 
same  steady  thorough-going  character  that  had 
won  him  advancement  in  the  coasting  trade. 
The  secret  of  his  good  fortune  (if  secret  it  may 
be  called)  Avas  his  untiring  perseverance  and 
energy  in  the  pursuit  of  one  object  at  one  time. 
His  attention  was  never  divided.  He  seemed 
to  have  the  power  of  giving  his  whole  soul  to 
the  work  in  hand,  whatever  that  might  be, 
without  troubling  himself  about  the  future. 
Whatever  his  hand  found  to  do  he  did  it  with 
all  his  might.  The  consequence  was  that  he 
became  a  first-rate  man.  His  superiors  soon 
found  that  out.  He  did  not  require  to  boast 
or  push  himself  forward.  His  work  spoke  for 
him,  and  the  residt  was  that  he  was  promoted 
from  the  fore-castle  to  the  quarter-deck  and 
became  a  master  on  board  the  Mercury  when 
he  was  about  thirty  years  of  age. 

About  this  time  he  went  with  the  fleet  to 
the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  took  part  in  the 
war  then  raging  between  the  British  and  French 
in  Canada.  Winter  in  that  region  is  long  and 
bitterly  cold.  The  gulfs  and  rivers  there  are 
at  that  season  covered  with  thick  ice  ;  ships 
cannot  move  about,  and  war  cannot  be  carried 
on.  Thus  the  fleet  was  for  a  long  period  in- 
active. Cook  took  advantage  of  this  leisure 
time  to  study  mathematics  and  astronomy,  and, 
although  he  little  thought  it,  was  thus  fitting 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  1 1 

himself  for  the  great  work  of  discovery  which 
he  afterwards  undertook  with  signal  success. 

In  this  expedition  to  Canada,  Cook  dis- 
tinguished  himself  greatly — especially  in  his 
surveys  of  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  in 
piloting  the  fleet  safely  through  the  dangerous 
shoals  and  rocks  of  that  inland  sea.  So  care- 
ful and  correct  was  he  in  all  that  he  did,  that 
men  in  power  and  in  high  places  began  to 
take  special  notice  of  him,  and,  finally,  when  in 
the  year  1767,  an  expedition  of  importance 
was  about  to  be  sent  to  the  southern  seas  for 
scientific  purposes,  Cook  was  chosen  to  com- 
mand it. 

This  was  indeed  a  high  honour,  for  the  suc- 
cess of  that  expedition  depended  on  the  man 
who  should  be  placed  at  its  head.  In  order  to 
mark  the  importance  of  the  command,  and  at 
the  same  time  invest  the  commander  with 
proper  authority,  Cook  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  lieutenant  in  the  Eoyal  Navy.  He  had 
long  been  a  gentleman  in  heart  and  conduct ; 
he  was  now  raised  to  the  social  position  of  one 
by  the  King's  commission. 

From  this  point  in  his  career.  Cook's  history 
as  a  great  navigator  and  discoverer  began. 
We  shall  now  follow  him  more  closely  in  his 
brilliant  course  over  the  world  of  waters.  He 
was  about  forty  years  of  age  at  this  time; 
modest  and  unassuming  in  manners  and   ap- 


1 2  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

pearance  ;  upwards  of  six  feet  high,  and  good- 
looking,  with  quick  piercing  eyes  and  brown 
hair,  which  latter  he  wore,  according  to  the 
fashion  of  the  time,  tied  behind  in  a  pig  tail. 
It  was  not  until  the  end  of  his  first  voyage 
tliat  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain. 


II 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  13 


CHAPTER  II. 

SHOWS  WHAT  MEN  WILL  DO  AND  DARE  IN  THE  CAUSE 
OF  SCIENCE. 

MEN  who  study  the  stars  tell  us  strange 
and  wonderful  things — things  that  the 
unlearned  find  it  hard  to  understand,  and 
harder  still  to  believe,  yet  things  that  we  are 
now  as  sure  of,  as  we  are  of  the  fact  that  two 
and  two  make  four ! 

There  was  a  time  when  men  said  that  the 
sun  moved  round  the  earth,  and  very  natural 
it  was  in  men  to  say  so,  for,  to  the  eye  of 
sense,  it  looks  as  if  this  were  really  the  caSe. 
But  those  who  study  the  stars  have  found  out 
that  the  earth  moves  round  the  sun — a  dis- 
covery which  has  been  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance to  mankind — though  the  importance 
thereof  cannot  be  fully  understood  except  by 
scientific  men. 

Among  other  difficult  things,  these  astrono- 
mers have  attempted  to  measure  the  distance 
of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  from  our  earth. 
Moreover,  they  have  tried  to  ascertain  the 
exact  size  of  these  celestial  lights,  and  they 

R 


14  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

have,  to  a  considerable  extent,  been  successful 
in  their  efforts.  By  their  complicated  calcula- 
tions, the  men  who  study  the  stars  can  tell 
the  exact  day,  hour,  and  minute,  when  certain 
events  will  happen,  such  as  an  eclipse  of  the 
sun  or  of  the  moon. 

Now,  about  the  year  1768  the  attention  of  the 
scientific  world  was  eagerly  turned  to  an  event 
which  was  to  take  place  in  the  following  year. 
This  was  the  passage  of  the  planet  Venus 
across  the  face  of  the  sun.  Astronomers  term 
this  the  transit  of  Venus.  It  happens  verj'- 
seldom,  and  occurred  last  in  1769.  By  observ- 
ing this  passage — this  transit — of  Venus  across 
the  sun  from  different  parts  of  our  earth,  it 
was  hoped  that  such  information  could  be 
obtained  as  would  enable  us  to  measure,  not 
only  the  distance  of  the  sun  from  the  earth 
with  greater  accuracy  than  heretofore,  but  also 
the  extent  of  the  whole  host  of  stars  that 
move  with  our  earth  around  the  sun  and  form 
what  is  called  our  Solar  System. 

An  opportunity  occurring  so  seldom  was  not 
to  be  lost.  Learned  men  were  sent  to  all  parts 
of  the  world  to  observe  the  event.  Among 
others,  Captain  Cook  was  sent  to  the  south 
seas — there,  among  the  far  off  coral  isles,  to 
note  the  passage  of  a  little  star  across  the  sun's 
face — an  apparently  trifling,  though  in  reality 
important,  event  in  the  history  of  science. 


THE  CANNIBAL   ISLANDS.  1 5 

So  much  for  the  object  of  Cook's  first 
voyage.  Let  us  now  turn  to  the  details 
thereof. 

The  vessel  chosen  by  him  for  his  long  and 
dangerous  voyage  to  unknown  seas  was  a 
small  one  of  only  370  tons  burden.  It  was 
named  the  Endeavour.  The  crew  consisted 
of  forty-one  seamen,  twelve  marines,  and  nine 
servants — these,  with  the  officers  and  the 
scientific  men  of  the  expedition,  made  up  a 
body  of  eighty-five  persons. 

The  scientific  men  above  mentioned  were, 
Mr.  Green,  an  astronomer;  Mr.  Banks,  a 
naturalist,  who  afterwards  became  Sir  Joseph 
Banks  and  a  celebrated  man ;  Doctor  Solander, 
who  was  also  a  naturalist,  and  two  draughts- 
men, one  of  Avhom  was  skilled  in  draAving 
objects  of  natural  history,  the  other  in  taking 
views  of  scenery. 

The  Endeavour  was  victualled  for  a  cruise 
of  eighteen  months.  She  was  a  three-masted 
vessel  of  the  barque  rig,  and  carried  twenty- 
two  large  guns,  besides  a  store  of  small  arms, 
— for  the  region  of  the  world  to  which  they 
were  bound  was  inhabited  by  savages,  against 
whom  they  might  find  it  necessary  to  defend 
themselves. 

When  all  was  ready.  Captain  Cook  hoisted 
his  flag,  and  spread  his  sails,  and,  on  the  26th 
of  August  1768,  the  voyage  began — England 


16  THE  CANXIBAL  ISLANDS. 

soon  dropped  out  of  sight  astern,  and  ere  long 
the  blue  sky  above  and  the  blue  sea  below 
were  all  that  remained  for  the  eyes  of  the 
navigators  to  rest  upon. 

It  is  a  wonderful  thought,  when  we  come  to 
consider  it,  the  idea  of  going  to  sea  I  To 
sailors  who  are  used  to  it,  the  thought,  indeed, 
may  be  very  commonplace,  and  to  lazy  minds 
that  are  not  much  given  to  think  deeply  upon 
any  subject,  the  thought  may  not  appear  very 
wonderful ;  but  it  is  so,  nevertheless,  to  us,  men 
of  the  land,  when  we  calmly  sit  down  and 
ponder  the  idea  of  making  to  ourselves  a 
house  of  planks  and  beams  of  woods,  launching 
it  upon  the  sea,  loading  it  with  food  and 
merchandise,  setting  up  tall  poles  above  its 
roof,  spreading  great  sheets  thereon,  and  then 
rushing  out  upon  the  troubled  waters  of  the 
great  deep,  there,  for  days  and  nights,  for 
weeks  and  months,  and  even  years,  to  brave 
the  fury  of  the  winds  and  waves,  with  nothing 
between  us  and  death  except  a  wooden  plank, 
some  two  or  three  inches  thick ! 

It  seems  a  bold  thing  for  man  to  act  in  this 
fashion,  even  when  he  is  accustomed  to  it,  and 
when  he  knows  all  about  the  sea  which  he 
sails  over;  but  when,  like  Cook,  he  knows 
very  little  about  the  far-off  ocean  to  which  he 
is  bound,  his  boldness  seems,  and  really  is, 
much   greater.      It    is  this  very  uncertainty, 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  1 7 

however,  that  charms  the  minds  of  enterprising 
men  and  gives  interest  to  such  voyages. 

The  Bible  says  "  they  that  go  down  to 
the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in  great 
waters ;  these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and 
his  wonders  in  the  deep."  Navigators  in  all 
ages  have  borne  testimony  to  the  truth  of  this. 
The  very  first  pages  in  Cook's  journal  mention 
some  of  these  wonders.  He  says,  that  while 
they  were  off  the  coast  of  Spain,  Mr.  Banks 
and  Dr.  Solander,  the  naturalists,  had  an 
opportunity  of  observing  some  very  curious 
marine  animals,  some  of  which  were  like 
jelly,  and  so  colourless  that  it  was  difficult  to 
see  them  in  the  water  except  at  night,  when 
they  became  luminous,  and  glowed  like  pale 
liquid  fire.  One,  that  was  carefully  examined, 
was  about  three  inches  long,  and  an  inch  thick, 
with  a  hollow  passing  quite  through  it,  and  a 
brown  spot  at  one  end  which  was  supposed  to 
be  its  stomach.  Four  of  these,  when  first 
taken  up  out  of  the  sea  in  a  bucket,  were 
found  to  be  adhering  together,  and  were 
supposed  to  be  one  animal ;  but  on  being  put 
into  a  glass  of  water  they  separated  and  swam 
briskly  about.  Many  of  them  resembled 
precious  stones,  and  shone  in  the  water  with 
bright  and  beautiful  colours.  One  little 
animal  of  this  kind  lived  several  hours  in  a 
glass  of  salt  water,  swimming  about  witli  great 


18  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

agility,  and  at  every  motion  displaying  a  change 
of  colours. 

These  Medusa,  as  they  are  called,  have  been 
spoken  of  by  many  travellers,  who  tell  us  that 
in  some  parts  of  the  sea  they  are  so  numerous 
that  the  whole  ocean  is  covered  with  them,  and 
seems  to  be  composed  of  liquid  fire,  usually  of 
a  pale  blue  or  green  colour.  The  appearance 
is  described  as  being  of  great  splendour.  Even 
in  the  seas  on  our  own  coasts  this  beautiful 
light  is  often  seen.  It  is  called  phosphoric 
light.  Something  of  the  same  kind  may  be 
seen  in  the  carcass  of  a  decaying  fish  if  taken 
into  a  dark  room. 

Not  long  after  this,  they  saw  flying-fish. 
Cook  says  that  when  seen  from  the  cabin-win- 
dows they  were  beautiful  beyond  imagination, 
their  sides  having  the  colour  and  brightness  of 
burnished  silver.  When  seen  from  the  deck 
they  did  not  look  so  beautiful,  because  their 
backs  were  of  a  dark  colour.  It  must  not  be 
supposed  that  these  fish  could  fly  about  in  the 
air  like  birds.  They  can  only  fly  a  few  yards 
at  a  time.  They  usually  rise  suddenly  from 
the  waves,  fly,  as  if  in  a  great  hurry,  not  more 
than  a  yard  or  two  above  the  surface,  and  then 
drop  as  suddenly  back  into  the  sea  as  they  rose 
out  of  it.  The  two  fins  near  the  shoulders  of 
the  fish  are  very  long,  so  that  they  can  be  used 
as  wings  for  these  short  flights.     When  chased 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  19 

by  their  enemy,  the  dolphin,  flying-fish  usually 
take  a  flight  in  order  to  escape.  They  do  not, 
however,  appear  to  be  able  to  use  their  eyes 
when  out  of  the  water,  for  they  have  been  seen 
to  fly  against  ships  at  sea,  get  entangled  in  the 
rigging,  and  fall  helpless  on  the  deck.  They 
are  not  quite  so  large  as  a  herring,  and  are 
considered  very  good  eating. 

On  drawing  near  to  Cape  Horn,  on  the  ex- 
treme south  of  South  America,  the  voyagers 
began  to  prepare  for  bad  weather,  for  this  Cape 
is  notorious  for  its  storms.  Few  mariners 
approach  the  Horn  without  some  preparation, 
for  many  a  good  ship  has  gone  to  the  bottom 
in  the  gales  that  blow  there. 

It  was  here  that  they  first  fell  in  with 
savages.  The  ship  having  approached  close  to 
that  part  of  the  land  named  Tierra  del  Fuego, 
natives  were  observed  on  shore.  As  Mr.  Banks 
and  Dr.  Solander  were  anxious  to  visit  them,  a 
boat  was  lowered  and  sent  ashore.  They 
landed  near  a  bay  in  the  lee  of  some  rocks 
where  the  water  was  smooth.  Thirty  or  forty 
of  the  Indians  soon  made  their  appearance  at 
the  end  of  a  sandy  beach  on  the  other  side  of 
the  bay,  but  seeing  that  there  were  twelve 
Europeans  in  the  boat  they  were  afraid,  and 
retreated.  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander  then 
advanced  about  one  hundred  yards,  on  which 
two  of  the  Indians  returned,  and,  having  ad- 


20  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

vanced  some  paces,  sat  down.  As  soon  as  the 
gentlemen  came  up  the  savages  rose  and  each 
threw  away  a  small  stick  which  he  had  carried 
in  his  hand.  This  was  intended  for  a  sign  of 
peace.  They  then  walked  briskly  towards 
their  companions  who  had  halted  about  fifty 
yards  behind  them,  and  beckoned  the  gentle- 
men to  follow,  which  they  did.  They  were 
received  with  many  uncouth  signs  of  friend- 
ship, and,  in  return,  gave  the  savages  some 
beads  and  ribbons  which  greatly  delighted 
them. 

A  feeling  of  goodwill  having  been  thus  esta- 
blished, the  two  parties  joined  and  tried  to  hold 
converse  by  means  of  signs.  Three  of  the 
Indians  agreed  to  accompany  them  back  to  the 
ship,  and  when  they  got  on  board  one  of  the 
wild  visitors  began  to  go  through  some  extra- 
ordinary antics.  When  he  was  taken  to  any 
new  part  of  the  ship,  or  when  he  was  shown 
any  new  thing,  he  shouted  with  all  his  force 
for  some  minutes,  without  directing  his  voice 
either  to  the  people  of  the  ship  or  to  his  com- 
panions. 

Some  beef  and  bread  being  given  to  them 
they  ate  it,  but  did  not  seem  to  relish  it  much. 
Nevertheless,  such  of  it  as  they  did  not  eat 
they  took  away  with  them.  But  they  would 
not  swallow  a  drop  either  of  wine  or  spirits. 
They  put  the  glass  to  their  lips,  but,  having 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS,  21 

tasted  the  liquor,  tliey  returned  it  with  looks 
of  disgust. 

Cook  says  he  was  much  surprised  at  the 
want  of  curiosity  in  these  savages  of  the  Cape, 
and  seems  to  have  formed  a  very  low  opinion 
of  them.  They  were  conducted  all  over  the 
ship,  yet,  although  they  saw  a  vast  number  of 
beautiful  and  curious  things  that  must  have 
been  quite  new  to  them,  they  did  not  give  vent 
to  any  expression  of  wonder  or  pleasure — for 
the  howling  above  spoken  of  did  not  seem  to 
be  either — and  when  they  returned  to  land 
they  did  not  seem  anxious  to  tell  what  they  had 
seen,  neither  did  their  comrades  appear  desirous 
of  hearing  anything  about  their  visit  to  the 
ship.  Altogether,  they  seemed  a  much  lower 
race  of  people  than  the  inhabitants  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands  whom  Cook  afterwards 
visited. 


22  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


CHAPTER   III. 

DESCRIBES  AN  ADVENTDKE  IN   THE  MOUNTAINS,  AND   TELLS 
OP  TIERRA  DEL  FUEQO. 

ONE  of  the  main  objects  that  Mr.  Banks  and 
Dr.  Solander  had  in  view  in  going  with 
Captain  Cook  on  this  voyage  was  to  collect 
specimens  of  plants  and  insects  in  the  new 
countries  they  were  about  to  visit.  The 
country  near  Cape  Horn  was  at  that  time 
almost  unknown,  indeed  it  is  not  much  known 
even  at  the  present  day.  The  two  naturalists 
of  the  expedition  were  therefore  anxious  to 
land  and  explore  the  shore. 

Accordingly,  early  one  fine  morning  a  party 
went  ashore  to  ascend  one  of  the  mountains. 
It  consisted  of  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander 
with  their  servants,  two  of  whom  were  negroes ; 
Mr.  Buchan,  the  draughtsman,  Mr.  Monkhouse, 
the  surgeon  of  the  ship,  and  Mr.  Green,  the 
astronomer.  These  set  off  to  push  as  far  as 
they  could  into  the  country,  intending  to  return 
before  night.  They  were  accompanied  by  two 
seamen  who  carried  their  baggage. 


% 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  23 

The  hills,  when  viewed  from  a  distance, 
seemed  to  be  partly  wooded ;  above  the  wood 
there  was  a  plain,  and  beyond  that  bare  rocks. 
Mr.  Banks  hoped  to  get  through  the  wood,  and 
made  no  doubt  that  beyond  it  he  would  find 
new  sorts  of  plants  which  no  botanist  had  ever 
yet  heard  of.  They  entered  the  wood  full  of 
hope,  and  with  much  of  the  excitement  that 
men  cannot  but  feel  when  exploring  a  country 
that  has  never  been  trodden  by  the  foot  of  a 
civilized  man  since  the  world  began. 

It  took  them,  however,  much  longer  to  get 
through  the  pathless  wood  than  they  had  ex- 
pected. It  was  afternoon  before  they  reached 
what  they  had  taken  for  a  plain,  but  which,  to 
their  great  disappointment,  they  found  to  be  a 
swamp  covered  with  low  bushes,  which  were  so 
stubborn  that  they  could  not  break  through 
them,  and  were  therefore  compelled  to  step 
over  them,  while  at  every  step  they  sank  up  to 
the  ankles  in  mud — a  mode  of  progress  so 
fatiguing  that  they  were  all  very  soon  ex- 
hausted. To  make  matters  worse  the  weather 
became  gloomy  and  cold,  with  sudden  blasts  of 
piercing  wind  accompanied  by  snow. 

They  pushed  on  vigorously  notwithstanding, 
and  had  well-nigh  crossed  the  swamp  when  Mr. 
Buchan  was  suddenly  seized  with  a  fit.  This 
compelled  a  halt.  As  he  could  not  go  further 
a  fire  was  kindled,  and  those  who  were  most 


24 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


fatigued  were  left  behind  to  take  care  of  him 
while  the  rest  continued  to  advance.  At  last 
they  reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain  and 
were  rewarded  for  their  toil  by  the  botanical 
sjjecimens  discovered  there.  It  was  late  in  the 
day  by  that  time,  and  as  it  was  impossible  to 
get  back  to  the  ship  that  night,  they  were 
obliged  to  make  up  their  minds  to  bivouac  on 
the  mountain,  a  necessity  which  caused  them 
no  little  uneasiness,  for  it  had  now  become 
bitterly  cold.  Sharp  blasts  of  wind  became  so 
frequent,  however,  that  they  could  not  remain 
on  the  exposed  mountain-side,  and  were  obliged 
to  make  for  the  shelter  of  the  woods  in  the 
nearest  valley. 

Mr.  Buchan  having  recovered,  and  the  whole 
party  having  reassembled,  they  set  out  to  re- 
cross  the  swamp,  intending,  when  they  should 
get  into  the  woods,  to  build  a  hut  of  leaves  and 
branches,  kindle  a  fire,  and  pass  the  night  there 
as  well  as  they  could.  But  an  overpowering 
torpor  had  now  begun  to  seize  hold  upon  some 
of  the  party,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  the  others  could  prevent  the  drowsy 
ones  from  lying  down  to  sleep  in  the  snow. 
This  almost  irresistible  tendency  to  sleep  is 
common  in  cold  countries.  It  is  one  of  the 
effects  of  extreme  cold  upon  exliausted  men, 
and  is  a  very  dangerous  condition,  because  those 
who  fall  into  it  cannot  resist  giving  way  to  itj 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  25 

even  though  they  know  that  if  they  do  so  they 
will  certainly  die. 

Dr.  Solander,  who  had  formerly  travelled  on 
the  snow-topped  mountains  of  Norway,  was 
aware  of  the  danger  of  giving  way  to  this  feel- 
ing, and  strove  to  prevent  his  companions  from 
falling  into  the  fatal  rest.  "Whoever  sits 
down,"  said  he,  "  will  sleep,  and  whoever  sleeps 
will  awake  no  more." 

Strange  to  say.  Dr.  Solander  was  the  first  to 
disregard  his  own  warning.  While  they  were 
still  pushing  across  the  naked  side  of  the 
mountain,  the  cold  became  suddenly  so  intense 
that  it  increased  the  effect  they  dreaded  so 
much.  The  doctor  found  the  desire  to  rest  so 
irresistible  that  he  insisted  on  being  suffered  to 
lie  down.  Mr.  Banks  tried  to  prevent  him,  but 
in  vain.  Down  he  lay  upon  the  ground,  covered 
though  it  was  with  snow,  and  all  that  his  friends 
could  do  was  to  keep  shaking  him,  and  so 
prevent  him  from  falling  into  the  fatal  sleep. 
At  the  same  time  one  of  the  negro  servants 
became  affected  in  a  similar  manner.  Mr. 
Banks,  therefore,  sent  forward  five  of  the  com- 
pany with  orders  to  get  a  fire  ready  at  the  first 
convenient  place  they  could  find,  while  himself 
with  four  others  remained  with  the  doctor  and 
the  negro,  whom  partly  by  entreaty  and  partly 
by  force,  they  roused  up  and  brought  on  for 
some  little  distance.     But  when  they  had  got 


26  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

through  the  greatest  part  of  the  swamp  they 
both  declared  they  could  go  no  further.  Again 
Mr.  Banks  tried  to  reason  wdth  the  two  un- 
fortunate men,  pointing  out  their  extreme 
danger  and  beseeching  them  to  make  an  effort 
to  advance.     But  all  he  could  say  had  no  effect. 

When  the  negro  was  told  that  if  he  would 
not  go  on  he  must,  in  a  short  time,  be  frozen  to 
death,  he  answered  that  he  desired  nothing  but 
to  be  allowed  to  lie  down  and  die.  Dr.  Solander, 
on  being  told  the  same  thing,  replied  that  he 
was  willing  to  go  on,  but  that  he  must  "first 
take,  some  sleep"  forgetting  apparently  that  he 
had  before  told  his  comrades  that  to  sleep  was 
to  perish. 

As  Mr.  Banks  and  his  companions  could  not 
carry  them,  there  was  no  help  for  it — they  were 
suffered  to  sit  down,  being  partly  supported  by 
the  bushes.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  both 
sound  asleep.  Providentially,  just  at  that  time, 
some  of  the  people  who  had  been  sent  forward 
returned  with  the  welcome  news  that  a  fire  had 
been  lighted  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
off.  Eenewed  attempts  were  therefore  made 
to  rouse  the  sleepers.  But  the  negro  was  past 
help.  Every  effort  failed  to  awaken  him.  With 
Dr.  Solander  they  were  more  successful,  yet, 
though  he  had  not  slept  five  minutes  he  had 
almost  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  and  the  muscles 
were  so  shrunken  that  the  shoes  fell  off  his 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  27 

feet.  Staggering  and  stumbling  among  the 
slush  and  snow  more  dead  than  alive,  he  was 
half  carried  half  dragged  by  his  comrades  to 
the  fire. 

Meanwhile  the  other  negro  and  a  seaman 
were  left  in  charge  of  the  unfortunate  black 
servant  with  directions  to  stay  by  him  and  do 
what  they  could  for  him  until  help  should  be 
sent.  The  moment  Dr.  Solander  was  got  to 
the  fire,  two  of  the  strongest  of  the  party  who 
had  been  refreshed  were  sent  back  to  bring 
in  the  negro.  In  half  an  hour,  however,  they 
had  the  mortification  to  see  these  two  men 
return  alone.  They  had  been  unable  to  find 
their  comrades.  This  at  first  seemed  unaccount- 
able, but  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  only 
bottle  of  rum  belonging  to  the  party  was  amiss- 
ing,  Mr.  Banks  thought  it  probable  that  it  had 
been  in  the  knapsack  of  one  of  the  absent  men, 
that  by  means  of  it  the  sleeping  negro  had  been 
revived ;  that  they  had  then  tried  to  reach  the 
fire  without  waiting  for  assistance,  and  so  had 
lost  themselves. 

It  was  by  this  time  quite  dark,  another  heavy 
fall  of  snow  had  come  on  and  continued  for 
two  hours,  so  that  all  hope  of  seeing  them  again 
alive  was  given  up,  for  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  men  remaining  by  the  fire  were  so 
thoroughly  knocked  up  that  had  they  gone  out 
to  try  to  save  their  comrades  they  would  in  all 


28  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

probability  have  lost  their  own  lives.  Towards 
midnight,  however,  a  shout  was  heard  at  some 
distance.  Mr.  Banks  with  four  others  went 
out  immediately  and  found  the  seaman  who  had 
been  left  with  the  two  negroes,  staggering  along 
with  just  strength  enough  to  keep  on  his  legs. 
He  was  quickly  brought  to  the  fire,  and  having 
described  where  the  other  two  were,  Mr.  Banks 
proceeded  in  search  of  them.  They  were  soon 
found.  The  first  negro,  who  had  sunk  down  at 
the  same  time  with  Dr.  Solander,  was  found 
standing  on  his  legs,  but  unable  to  move.  The 
other  negro  was  lying  on  the  snow  as  insensible 
as  a  stone. 

All  hands  were  now  called  from  the  fire,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  carry  them  to  it,  but 
every  man  was  so  weak  from  cold,  hunger,  and 
fatigue,  that  the  united  strength  of  the  whole 
party  was  not  sufiicient  for  this.  The  night 
was  extremely  dark,  the  snow  was  very  deep, 
and  although  they  were  but  a  short  distance 
from  the  fire,  it  Avas  as  much  as  each  man  could 
do  to  make  his  way  back  to  it,  stumbling  and 
falling  as  he  went  through  bogs  and  bushes. 

Thus  the  poor  negroes  were  left  to  their  sad 
fate,  and  some  of  the  others  were  so  near  shar- 
ing that  fate  with  them  that  they  began  to  lose 
their  sense  of  feeling.  One  of  Mr.  Banks's 
servants  became  so  ill,  that  it  was  feared  he 
would  die  before  he  could  be  got  to  the  fire. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  29 

At  tlie  fire,  however,  they  did  eventually 
arrive,  and  beside  it  passed  a  dreadful  night  of 
anxiety,  grief,  and  sufiering.  Of  the  twelve 
who  had  set  out  on  this  unfortunate  expedition 
in  health  and  good  spirits,  two  were  dead,  a 
third  was  so  ill  that  it  was  doubtful  whether 
he  would  be  able  to  go  forward  in  the  morning, 
and  a  fourth,  ]\Ir.  Buchan,  was  in  danger  of  a 
return  of  his  fits.  They  were  distant  from  the 
ship  a  long  day's  journey,  while  snow  lay  deep 
on  the  ground  and  still  continued  to  fall. 
Moreover,  as  they  had  not  expected  to  be  out 
so  long,  they  had  no  provisions  left,  except  a 
vulture  which  chanced  to  be  shot,  and  which 
was  not  large  enough  to  afford  each  of  them 
quarter  of  a  meal. 

When  morning  dawned  nothingwas  tobeseen, 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  but  snow,  which 
seemed  to  lie  as  tliick  upon  the  trees  a?  on  the 
gi'ound,  and  the  -svind  came  down  in  such  sudden 
violent  blasts,  that  they  did  not  dare  to  resume 
their  journey.  How  long  this  might  last  they 
knew  not.  Despair  crept  slowly  over  them, 
and  they  began  gloomily  to  believe  that  they 
were  doomed  to  perish  of  hunger  and  cold  in 
that  dreary  waste.  But  the  Almighty,  who 
often  afi'ords  help  to  man  when  his  case  seems 
most  hopeless  and  desperate,  sent  deliverance 
in  a  way  most  agreeable  and  unexpected.  He 
caused  a  soft  noild  breeze  to  blow,  under  the 


30  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

influence  of  which  the  clouds  began  to  clear 
away,  the  intense  cold  moderated,  and  the 
gladdening  sun  broke  forth,  so  that  with 
revived  spirits  and  frames  the  wanderers  were 
enabled  to  start  on  the  return  journey  to  the 
coast. 

Before  doing  so,  they  cooked  and  ate  the 
vulture,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  devoured 
that  meal  with  fully  as  much  eagerness  and 
satisfaction  as  the  ravenous  bird  itself  ever 
devoured  its  prey.  It  was  but  a  light  break- 
fast, however.  After  being  skinned,  the  bird 
was  divided  into  ten  portions,  and  every  man 
cooked  his  own  as  he  thought  fit,  but  each  did 
not  receive  above  three  mouthfuls.  Neverthe- 
less it  strengthened  them  enough  to  enable 
them  to  return  to  the  ship,  where  they  were 
received  by  their  anxious  friends  with  much 
joy  and  thankfulness. 

The  month  of  December  is  the  middle  of 
summer  in  the  land  at  the  extreme  south  of 
South  America.  That  land  occupies  much 
about  the  same  position  on  the  southern  half 
of  this  world  that  we  occupy  on  the  northern 
half;  so  that,  when  it  is  winter  with  us,  it  is 
summer  there.  The  climate  is  rigorous  and 
stormy  in  the  extreme,  and  the  description 
given  of  the  natives  shows  that  they  are  a 
Avretched  and  forlorn  race  of  human  beings. 
Captain   Cook    visited    one    of   their   villages 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  31 

before  leaving  the  coast.  It  contained  about 
a  dozen  dwellings  of  the  poorest  description. 
They  were  mere  hovels ;  nothing  more  than  a 
few  poles  set  up  in  a  circle  and  meeting 
together  at  the  top,  each  forming  a  kind  of 
cone.  On  the  weather  side  each  cone  was 
covered  with  a  few  boughs  and  a  little  grass. 
The  other  side  was  left  open  to  let  the  light  in 
and  the  smoke  out.  Furniture  they  had  none. 
A  little  grass  on  the  floor  served  for  chairs, 
tables,  and  beds.  The  only  articles  of  manu- 
facture to  be  seen  among  the  people  were  a 
few  rude  baskets,  and  a  sort  of  sack  in  which 
they  carried  the  shell-fish  which  formed  part 
of  their  food.  They  had  also  bows  and  arrows 
which  were  rather  neatly  made,  the  arrows 
with  flint  heads  cleverly  fitted  on. 

The  colour  of  those  savages  resembled  iron- 
rust  mixed  with  oO  ;  their  hair  was  long  and 
black.  The  men  were  large  but  clumsy  feUows, 
varying  from  five  feet  eight  to  five  feet  ten. 
The  women  were  much  smaller,  few  being 
above  five  feet.  Their  costume  consisted  of 
skins  of  wild  animals.  The  women  tied  their 
fur  cloaks  about  the  waists  with  a  thong  of 
leather.  One  would  imagine  that  among  people 
so  poor  and  miserably  ofi",  there  was  not  temp- 
tation to  vain  show,  nevertheless  they  were 
fond  of  making  themselves  "  look  fine ! " 
They  painted  their  faces  with  various  colours  ; 


32  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

white  round  the  eyes,  with  stripes  of  red  and 
black  across  the  cheeks,  but  scarcely  any  two 
of  them  were  painted  alike.  Both  men  and 
women  wore  bracelets  of  beads  made  of  shells 
and  bones,  and,  of  course,  they  were  greatly 
delighted  with  the  beads  which  their  visitors 
presented  to  them.  Their  language  was  harsh 
in  sound  ;  thev  seemed  to  have  no  form  of 
government,  and  no  sort  of  religion.  Alto- 
gether they  aj)peared  to  be  the  most  destitute, 
as  well  as  the  most  stupid,  of  all  human 
beings. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  33 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EXPLAINS  HOW  CORAL  ISLANDS  ARE  MADE. 

SOON  after  this  adventurous  visit  to  the 
land  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  the  Endeavour 
doubled  Cape  Horn  and  entered  the  waters  of 
the  great  Pacific  Ocean  ;  and  now  Cook  began 
to  traverse  those  unknown  seas  in  which  his 
fame  as  a  discoverer  was  destined  to  be  made. 
He  sailed  over  this  ocean  for  several  weeks, 
however,  before  discovering  any  land.  It  was 
on  Tuesday  morning,  the  lOtli  of  April,  that 
he  fell  in  with  the  first  of  the  coral  islands. 
Mr.  Banks's  servant,  Peter  Briscoe,  was  the 
first  to  see  it,  bearing  south,  at  the  distance  of 
about  ten  or  twelve  miles,  and  the  ship  was 
immediately  run  in  that  direction.  It  was 
found  to  be  an  island  of  an  oval  form,  with  a 
lake,  or  lagoon,  in  the  middle  of  it.  In  fact  it 
was  like  an  irregularly-formed  ring  of  land, 
with  the  ocean  outside  and  a  lake  inside. 
Coral  islands  vary  a  good  deal  in  form  and 
size,  but  the  above  description  is  true  of  many 
of  them. 


34  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

To  this  island  the  crew  of  the  Endeavour 
now  drew  near  with  looks  of  eager  interest,  as 
may  well  be  believed,  for  an  unknown  land 
necessarily  excites  feelings  of  lively  curiosity 
in  the  breasts  of  those  who  discover  it. 

It  was  found  to  be  very  narrow  in  some 
places,  and  very  low,  almost  on  a  level  with 
the  sea.  Some  parts  were  bare  and  rocky; 
others  were  covered  with  vegetation,  while  in 
several  places  there  were  clumps  of  trees — 
chiefly  cocoa-nut  palms.  When  the  ship  came 
within  a  mile  of  the  breakers,  the  lead  was 
hove,  but  no  bottom  was  found  with  130 
fathofQS  of  line !  This  was  an  extraordinary 
depth  so  near  shore,  but  they  afterwards  found 
that  most  of  the  coral  islands  have  great 
depth  of  water  round  them,  close  outside  the 
breakers. 

They  now  observed  that  the  island  was 
inhabited,  and  with  the  glass  counted  four-and- 
twenty  natives  walking  on  the  beach.  These 
all  seemed  to  be  quite  naked.  They  were  of 
a  brown  colour,  and  had  long  black  hair. 
They  carried  spears  of  great  length  in  their 
hands,  also  a  smaller  weapon  which  appeared 
to  be  either  a  club  or  a  paddle.  The  huts  of 
these  people  were  under  the  shade  of  some 
palm-trees,  and  Captain  Cook  says,  that  to 
him  and  his  men,  who  had  seen  nothing  but 
water  and  sky  for  many  long  months,  except 


■f:ii|f'='l!!i 


IUllllillliiil'HHl"'}'Mlllll)|lllllliil|i'!llllii|i^^ 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  35 

the  dreary  shores  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  these 
groves  appeared  like  paradise. 

They  called  this  Lagoon  Island.  As  night 
came  on  soon  after  they  reached  it,  however, 
they  were  compelled  to  sail  away  without 
attempting  to  land. 

Not  long  afterwards  another  island  was 
discovered.  This  one  was  in  the  shape  of  a 
bow,  with  the  calm  lake,  or  lagoon,  lying 
between  the  cord  and  the  bow.  It  was  also 
inhabited,  but  Cook  did  not  think  it  worth 
his  while  to  land.  The  natives  here  had 
canoes,  and  the  voyagers  waited  to  give  them 
an  opportunity  of  putting  off  to  the  ship,  but 
they  seemed  afraid  to  do  so. 

Now,  good  reader,  you  must  know  that  these 
coral  islands  of  the  Pacific  are  not  composed  of 
ordinary  rocks,  like  most  other  islands  of  the 
world,  but  are  literally  manufactured  or  built 
by  millions  of  extremely  small  insects  which 
merit  particular  notice.  Let  us  examine  this 
process  of  island-making  which  is  carried  on 
very  extensively  by  the  artisans  of  the  great 
South-Sea  Factory ! 

The  coral  insect  is  a  small  creature  of  the 
sea  which  has  been  gifted  with  the  power  of 
"  secreting"  or  depositing  a  lime-like  substance, 
with  which  it  builds  to  itself  a  little  cell  or 
habitation.  It  fastens  this  house  to  a  rock  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea.     Like  many  other  crea- 


36  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

tures  tlie  coral  insect  is  sociable ;  it  is  fond  of 
company,  and  is  never  found  working  except 
in  connexion  with  millions  of  its  friends.  Of 
all  the  creatures  of  earth  it  shows  perhaps  the 
best  example  of  what  mighty  works  can  be 
accomplished  by  union.  One  man  can  do  com- 
paratively little,  but  hundreds  of  men,  united 
in  their  work,  can  achieve  wonders,  as  every 
one  knows.  They  can  erect  palaces  and  cathe- 
drals towering  to  the  skies ;  they  can  cover 
hundreds  of  miles  of  ground  with  cities,  and 
connect  continents  with  telegraphs,  but,  with 
all  their  union,  all  their  wisdom,  and  all  their 
power,  men  cannot  build  islands — yet  this  is 
done  by  the  coral  insect ;  a  thing  without 
hands  or  brains,  a  creature  with  little  more 
than  a  body  and  a  stomach.  It  is  not  much 
bigger  than  a  pin-head,  yet  hundreds  of  the 
lovely,  fertile  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  are 
formed  by  this  busy  animalcule.  Many  of  those 
islands  would  never  have  been  there  but  for 
the  coral  insect ! 

When  corallines  (as  they  are  called)  set  about 
building  an  island,  they  lay  the  foundation  on 
the  top  of  a  submarine  mountain.  The  ordi- 
nary islands  of  the  sea  are  neither  more  nor 
less  than  the  tops  of  those  mountains  which 
rise  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea  and  project 
above  the  surface.  Some  of  these  sea-moun- 
tains rise  high  above  the  surface  and  form  large 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  37 

islands;  some  only  peep,  so  to  speak,  out  of 
the  waves,  thus  forming  small  islands ;  others 
again  do  not  rise  to  the  surface  at  all — their 
highest  peaks  being  several  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  ocean.  It  is  on  these  water-covered 
mountain-tops  that  the  coral  insects  lay  the 
foundations  of  their  islands.  As  few  moun- 
tain peaks  are  level,  however,  whether  above 
or  below  water,  the  insects  find  it  more  con- 
venient to  form  a  ring  round  the  sides  of  the 
mountain-top  than  to  build  on  the  exact  top 
itself.  Then  they  set  to  work  with  the  busy 
industry  of  bees.  Their  talents  are  few ;  ap- 
parently they  have  received  only  one,  but  they 
turn  that  one  to  good  account.  They  fulfil  the 
work  for  which  they  were  created.  No  creature 
can  do  more  ! 

They  begin  to  build,  and  the  work  advances 
rapidly,  for  they  are  active  little  masons.  The 
ring  round  the  mountain  top  soon  begins  to 
shoot  upwards  and  extend  outwards.  As  the 
labourers  continue  their  work  their  families 
increase.  It  is  a  thriving  and  a  united  com- 
munity. There  are  neither  wars  nor  disputes 
— no  quarrelling,  no  misspent  time,  no  mis- 
applied talents.  There  is  unity  of  action  and 
design,  hence  the  work  advances  quickly, 
steadily,  and  well.  In  process  of  time  the 
coral  ring  becomes  a  solid  wall,  which  gradually 
rises  above  the  highest  peak  of  the  submarine 


38  THE  CANXIBAL  ISLANDS. 

mountain,  and  at  length  approaches  the  surface 
of  the  sea.  When  it  reaches  this  point  the 
work  is  done.  The  coral  insect  can  only  work 
under  water.  When  its  delicate  head  rises 
above  the  wave  it  ceases  to  build,  and,  having 
done  its  duty,  it  dies.  Those  which  reach  the 
surface  first  die  first.  The  others  that  are  still 
below  water  work  on,  widening  and  strengthen- 
ing the  wall  until  they  too  reach  the  fatal  sur- 
face, peep  for  one  moment  as  it  were  on  the 
upper  world  and  then  perish.  Thus  the  active 
builders  go  on  adding  to  the  width  of  the 
structure  and  dying  by  successive  relays; 
working  with  their  little  might  during  their 
brief  existence  and  knowing  nothing  of  the 
great  end  which  is  to  result  from  their  modest 
busy  lives. 

With  the  death  of  the  coral  insects  the 
foundation  stone  of  the  island  is  laid,  in  the 
form  of  a  ring  just  peeping  out  of  the  ocean. 
Thenceforth  other  creatures  continue  the  work. 
The  waves  lash  and  beat  upon  the  uppermost 
coral  cells  and  break  them  up  into  fine  white 
sand.  Currents  of  ocean  throw  upon  this  beach 
pieces  of  sea-weed  and  drifting  marine  sub- 
stances of  various  kinds.  The  winds  convey 
the  lighter  seeds  of  land  plants  to  it,  and  sea- 
birds  that  alight  upon  it  to  rest  do  the  same 
thing.  Thus,  little  by  little,  things  accumulate 
on  the  top  of  the  coral  ring  until  the  summit 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  39 

rises  above  the  reach  and  fury  of  the  waves. 
No  sooner  is  this  accomplished  than  the  genial 
sun  of  those  regions  calls  the  seeds  into  life. 
A  few  blades  of  green  shoot  up.  These  are 
the  little  tokens  of  life  that  give  promise  of  the 
luxuriance  yet  to  come.  Soon  the  island-ring 
is  clothed  with  rich  and  beautiful  vegetation, 
cocoa-nut  palms  begin  to  sprout  and  sea-fowl 
to  find  shelter  where,  in  former  days,  the  waves 
of  the  salt  sea  alone  were  to  be  found.  In 
process  of  time  the  roving  South-sea  islanders 
discover  this  little  gem  of  ocean,  and  take  up 
their  abode  on  it,  and  when  such  a  man  as 
Cook  sails  past  it,  he  sees,  perchance,  the  naked 
savage  on  the  beach  gazing  in  wonder  at  his 
"  big  canoe,"  and  the  little  children  swimming 
like  ducks  in  the  calm  waters  of  the  lagoon  or 
gambolling  like  porpoises  among  the  huge 
breakers  outside  that  roll  like  driven  snow 
upon  the  strand. 

During  their  formation,  these  islands  are 
fraught  with  danger  to  ships,  for  sometimes, 
in  parts  of  the  ocean  where  charts  show  deep 
water,  the  sailor  finds  an  unexpected  coral  reef, 
and,  before  he  is  aware,  the  good  ship  runs  on 
this  living  wall  and  becomes  a  wreck.  Many  a 
noble  vessel  goes  to  sea  well  appointed  and  vnth 
a  good  brave  crew,  but  never  more  returns  ; 
— who  knows  how  many  such  have,  when 
all  on  board  thought  themselves  secure,  been 


40 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


dashed  to  pieces  suddenly,  and  lost  upon  the 
coral  reefs  of  the  Pacific  ? 

These  circular  islets  of  coral  never  rise  more 
than  a  few  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
but  there  are  many  other  islands  in  the  South 
Seas — some  of  which  have  been  thrown  up  by 
the  action  of  volcanoes,  and  are  wild,  rugged, 
mountainous,  and  of  every  conceivable  shape 
and  size. 

The  busy  corallines  before  mentioned  are  so 
numerous  in  the  South  Seas  that  they  build 
their  coral  walls  everywhere.  As  they  have 
an  objection  apparently  to  commence  building 
in  shallow  water,  they  are  obliged  to  keep  off 
the  shore  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  more,  so  that 
when  they  reach  the  surface  they  enclose  a  belt 
of  water  of  that  width,  which  is  guarded  by  the 
reef  from  the  violence  of  the  waves,  and  forms 
a  splendid  natural  harbour.  Almost  every 
South-sea  island  has  its  coral  reef  round  it, 
and  its  harbour  of  still  water  between  the  reef 
and  the  shore. 

It  would  seem  as  if  the  beneficent  Creator 
had  purposely  formed  those  harbours  for  man's 
convenience,  because  narrow  openings  are  found 
in  all  the  reefs,  without  which,  of  course,  the 
sheltered  waters  within  could  not  have  been 
entered.  These  openings  are  usually  found 
to  occur  opposite  valleys  where  the  streams 
from   the    mountains    enter   the   sea.      It   is 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  41 

therefore  supposed  that  fresh  water  kills  the 
coral  insects  at  these  places,  thus  preventing 
the  reef  from  forming  an  unbroken  circle. 
Low  islets  are  usually  formed  on  each  side  of 
the  openings  on  which  a  few  cocoa-nut  trees 
grow;  so  that  the  mariner  is  thus  furnished 
\vith  a  natural  beacon  by  which  to  guide  his 
vessel  clear  of  the  reef  safely  into  the  harbour. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  larger 
islands  of  the  Pacific  is  Otaheite  (now  spelt 
and  pronounced  Tahiti),  at  which  Captain 
Cook  arrived  on  the  4th  of  April  1769.  It 
had  been  discovered,  however,  nearly  two 
years  before  the  date  of  his  visit — as  the  next 
chapter  will  show. 


42  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

mSCOTEBT  BY  CAPTAIN  WALLIS  OF  OTAHEITE  OR  TAHITI. 

THE  beautiful  island  of  Tahiti  was  discovered 
by  Captain  Wallis  in  the  year  1767. 

It  was  on  a  bright  day  in  June  when  he 
first  saw  it  from  the  deck,  but  when  his  vessel 
(the  Dolphin)  came  close  to  it,  a  thick  mist 
descended  like  a  veU  and  shut  it  out  from  view 
of  the  impatient  mariners,  who  were  compelled 
to  lie  to  until  the  mist  should  clear  away. 
At  length  it  rolled  oflF,  and  disclosed  one  of 
the  most  lovely  and  delightful  scenes  that 
could  be  imagined. 

The  Dolphin  being  the  first  ship  that  ever 
touched  at  Tahiti,  the  natives,  as  we  may  well 
imagine,  were  fiUed  with  amazement  at  its  vast 
size  and  curious  shape.  No  sooner  did  the 
ship  draw  near  than  she  was  surrounded  by 
hundreds  of  canoes,  containing  altogether 
nearly  a  thousand  naked  savages.  At  first 
the  poor  creatures  were  afraid  to  draw  near. 
They  sat  in  their  little  barks  gazing  at  the 
"  big  canoe "  in  silent  wonder,  or  talking  to 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  43 

each  other  about  her  in  low  eager  tones,  but 
never  for  a  moment  taking  their  eyes  off  this 
great  sight ! 

At  last,  after  consulting  together,  they 
began  to  paddle  slowly  round  the  ship,  and 
make  signs  of  peace  and  friendship,  which 
those  on  board  were  not  slow  to  return,  en- 
deavouring to  induce  some  of  them  to  come 
on  deck.  This  they  were  naturally  afraid  to 
do,  but  at  length  one  fellow  took  heart  and 
began  by  making  a  speech,  which  lasted  for  full 
fifteen  minutes.  As  none  of  the  sailors  under- 
stood a  word  of  it,  they  were  not  much  en- 
lightened ;  but  the  savage,  who  held  a  branch 
of  the  plantain-tree  in  his  hand  during  his 
oration,  concluded  by  casting  this  branch  into 
the  sea.  This  was  meant  as  a  sign  of  friend- 
ship, for  soon  after  a  number  of  similar 
branches  were  thrown  on  the  ship's  deck,  and 
then  a  few  of  the  islanders  ventured  on  board. 

There  was  "much  talk,"  however,  on  the 
part  of  the  savages,  before  they  began  to  feel 
at  ease.  Trinkets  of  various  kinds  were  now 
offered  to  them,  and  they  gazed  around  them 
with  great  interest,  gradually  losing  their  fears 
under  the  kindness  of  Captain  Wallis  and  his 
companions.  This  happy  state  of  things,  how- 
ever, was  suddenly  interrupted  by  a  goat 
belonging  to  the  ship,  which,  not  liking  the 
appearance  of  the   strangers,  attacked  one  of 


44  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

them  unceremoniously,  and  butted  at  him  with 
its  head.  Turning  quickly  round,  the  savage 
was  filled  with  terror  on  beholding  a  creature, 
the  like  of  which  he  had  never  seen  before, 
reared  on  its  hind  legs,  and  preparing  to  repeat 
the  blow.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he 
rushed  in  consternation  to  the  ship's  side,  and 
plunged  into  the  sea,  whither  he  was  followed 
by  all  his  countrymen  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  A  storm  of  musket  bullets  could  not 
have  cleared  the  deck  more  quickly  than  did 
the  attack  of  that  pugnacious  goat ! 

In  a  short  time  they  recovered  from  their 
terrors,  the  ill-behaved  goat  was  removed,  and 
some  of  the  natives  were  again  induced  to 
return  on  board,  where  they  were  treated  with 
the  utmost  kindness,  and  presented  with  such 
trifling  gifts  as  beads  and  nails,  etc.,  much  to 
their  delight.  Notwithstanding  this,  however, 
the  visit  terminated  inharmoniously  in  con- 
sequence of  one  of  the  natives  snatching  a 
gold-laced  hat  from  an  officer's  head,  and 
jumping  with  it  into  the  sea ! 

After  this  Wallis  stood  in-shore  intending 
to  anchor,  and  sent  his  boats  still  closer  to  the 
land  to  take  soundings.  Here  they  were 
immediately  surrounded  by  a  great  number  of 
canoes,  and  the  captain,  suspecting  the  natives 
of  hostile  intentions,  fired  a  nine-pounder  over 
their  heads.     They  were  much  startled  by  the 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  45 

unknown  and  terrible  sound,  but,  seeing  that 
no  result  followed,  they  proceeded  to  attack 
the  boats,  sending  showers  of  stones  into  them, 
and  wounding  some  of  the  men.  It  now  be- 
came necessary  to  act  in  earnest,  so  a  musket 
shot  was  discharged  at  the  savage  who  began 
the  attack.  The  ball  pierced  his  shoulder, 
whereupon  the  whole  host  paddled  to  the  shore 
in  great  terror  and  confusion. 

Notwithstanding  this,  the  islanders  soon  re- 
turned to  the  ship  with  their  boughs  of  peace  : 
a  speech  was  made  by  one  of  them.  A  few 
trinkets  were  given  by  the  Europeans,  and 
friendship  was  again  restored ;  but  next  morn- 
ing, when  the  boats  were  in-shore  searching 
for  fresh  Avater,  a  second  attack  was  made 
upon  them.  Three  large  canoes  ran  against 
the  ship's  cutter,  and  stove  in  some  of  her 
upper  planks.  The  natives  were  about  to 
leap  on  board  when  a  volley  was  fired  into 
them,  and  two  of  their  number  fell  into  the 
sea.  On  seeing  this  they  instantly  retired, 
and  the  wounded  men  were  dragged  into  the 
canoes. 

Never  having  seen  the  effects  of  fire-arms 
before,  the  astonished  savages  apparently  could 
not  understand  what  was  wrong  with  their 
comrades.  They  set  them  on  their  feet,  but 
finding  they  could  not  stand,  they  tried  to 
make  them  sit  upright.     One  of  them  being 


46  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

only  wounded,  was  able  to  remain  in  this  posi- 
tion, but  the  other  was  dead,  so  they  had  to 
lay  him  in  the  bottom  of  their  canoe.  Once 
again  they  made  peaceful  signs,  and  Wallis, 
who  was  most  anxious  to  avoid  bloodshed, 
met  them  more  than  half  way.  Traffic  was 
speedily  opened,  and  a  considerable  quantity 
of  fruit,  fowls,  and  hogs  were  obtained  in 
exchange  for  scissors,  knives,  beads,  and  small 
trinkets  of  little  value.  But  this  did  not  last 
long.  Warlike  preparations  were  renewed  by 
the  natives,  and  many  of  their  canoes  w^re 
seen  to  be  filled  with  large  pebbles.  At  last 
an  attack  was  made  on  the  ship  itself,  and  a 
regular  battle  was  fought. 

This  happened  early  in  the  morning  when 
the  sailors  were  engaged  trafficking  with  the 
people  in  the  canoes  that  contained  provisions. 
Captain  Wallis  observed,  with  some  anxiety, 
that,  besides  those  provision  canoes,  many 
others  of  large  size  and  filled  with  stones 
were  gradually  crowding  round  the  ship ;  he, 
therefore  kept  part  of  the  crew  armed,  and 
loaded  his  guns.  More  canoes  were  putting 
off  from  shore  and  crowding  round  until  there 
were  about  three  hundred  of  them,  with  up- 
wards of  two  thousand  men,  some  of  whom 
sang  a  gruff  sort  of  war-song,  while  others  blew 
into  a  shell  as  if  it  were  a  trumpet,  and  some 
played  on  an  instrument  resembling  a  flute. 


i 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  47 

In  the  midst  of  these  discordant  noises  one 
canoe,  larger  than  the  others,  and  with  a  canopy 
over  it,  pushed  alongside,  and  a  naked  warrior 
handed  up  a  bunch  of  red  and  yellow  feathers. 
This  was,  of  course,  supposed  to  be  a  sign  of 
peace,  but  such  was  not  the  case.  Immediately 
afterwards  the  canoe  pushed  off  and  the  leader 
threw  into  the  air  the  branch  of  a  cocoa-nut  tree. 
This  was  the  signal.  A  general  shout  burst 
from  the  savages;  the  canoes  made  for  the 
ship,  and  showers  of  stones  were  thrown  on 
board.  Many  of  these  stones  were  fully  two 
pounds  weight,  and  as  they  were  thrown  with 
great  force,  some  of  the  sailors  were  severely 
wounded. 

The  crew  of  the  Dolphin  rushed  to  quarters. 
The  watch  on  deck  instantly  opened  a  fire  of 
musketry  on  those  nearest  the  ship,  and  two 
of  the  quarter-deck  swivel  guns,  which  happened 
to  be  loaded  with  small  shot,  were  also  dis- 
charged. This  warm  and  vigorous  reception 
checked  the  attack  for  a  few  minutes ;  but  the 
courage  of  the  savages  was  aroused.  They 
quickly  renewed  the  assault,  coming  on  in  all 
directions,  and  receiving  constant  reinforce- 
ments from  the  shore.  But  now  the  great  guns 
of  the  ship  were  brought  into  play;  the 
thunder  of  artillery  echoed,  for  the  first  time, 
from  the  mountain-sides  of  Tahiti ;  and,  as  the 
heavy  balls  tore  up  the  sea  and  crasheJ  uyon 


48  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

the  shore,  the  terrified  natives  in  the  canoes 
nearest  the  slaip  took  to  fliglit. 

Seeing  tlais,  the  captain  at  once  ordered  the 
fire  to  cease,  being  anxious  to  do  as  little  harm 
as  possible.  This,  however,  had  the  effect  of 
restoring  confidence  to  the  natives,  who  lay  for 
some  time  gazing  at  the  ship  from  a  consider- 
able distance.  They  had  evidently  profited 
by  their  short  experience  in  this  new  style  of 
warfare,  for,  observing  that  the  terrible  iron 
shower  came  thundering  only  from  the  sides  of 
the  ship,  they  made  their  next  attack  on  the 
bow  and  stern — advancing  with  much  daring, 
and  throwing  their  stones  with  great  violence 
and  good  aim,  insomuch  that  some  more  of  the 
men  were  severely  hurt. 

There  is  no  saying  what  might  have  been 
the  end  of  this  fight,  had  not  a  lucky  cannon- 
shot,  fired  from  one  of  the  great  guns  that  had 
been  run  out  at  the  bow,  hit  the  canoe  of  the 
savage  chief,  and  cut  it  in  two.  A  result  so 
tremendous  had  the  effect  of  filling  the  hearts 
of  the  savages  with  terror.  Every  canoe  turned 
tail  and  made  for  the  shore  in  dire  confusion, 
while  the  people  who  had  crowded  the  beach 
took  to  their  heels  and  ran  over  the  hills  in 
the  utmost  haste,  as  if  they  felt  their  only 
safety  lay  in  placing  the  mountains  between 
them  and  the  terrible  strangers  in  the  big  canoe. 
In  half  an  hour  not  a  single  canoe  was  to  be  seen! 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  49 

Captain  Wallis  now  hoped  that  the  natives 
tvould  feel  his  immense  superiority,  and  cease 
a  useless  contest,  but  he  was  mistaken.  He 
was  not  yet  done  with  them.  They  were  a 
very  determined  set  of  men.  Soon  after  this 
fight  they  were  observed  making  preparations 
for  a  renewed  attack.  They  could  be  seen 
pouring  over  the  hills  in  all  directions  and 
lurking  in  the  thickets,  while,  round  the  point, 
numbers  of  war-canoes  came  paddling  to  the 
beach,  where  fresh  Avarriors  and  bags  of  stones 
were  embarked.  It  was  evident  that  a  grand 
attack  was  to  be  made ;  so  Wallis  prepared 
to  repel  it.  Soon  after,  the  bay  was  crowded 
with  canoes  as  they  paddled  straight  and  swift 
toward  the  ship.  At  once  the  great  guns 
opened  with  terrible  effect,  and  so  tremendous 
a  fire  was  kept  up  that  the  entire  flotilla  was 
almost  instantly  dispersed.  Many  of  the 
canoes  Avere  run  ashore  and  deserted ;  others 
fled  round  the  point,  and  the  savages  took  to 
the  woods.  Into  these  the  fire  was  then 
directed,  and  the  natives,  who  doubtless  ima- 
gined that  no  danger  could  penetrate  from 
such  a  distance  into  the  heart  of  their  thick 
bushes,  were  driven,  astonished  and  horrified, 
up  a  hill  on  which  thousands  of  women  and 
children  had  taken  up  their  position  to  witness 
the  fight. 

Here  they  deemed    themselves    quite    safe, 


50  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

but  Captcain  Wallis  resolved  to  show  them  that 
they  were  not  so.  He  thought  that  the  best 
thing  he  could  do  would  be  to  inspire  them 
with  a  wholesome  dread  of  his  tremendous 
artillery,  so  he  ordered  the  guns  to  be  fired  at 
the  crowded  hill.  The  shots  tore  up  the  earth 
near  a  tree  under  which  a  dense  crowd  was 
collected.  It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  the 
whole  host  fled  on  the  wings  of  terror,  and  in 
less  than  two  minutes  not  a  man,  woman,  or 
child  was  to  be  seen. 

The  natives  now  at  length  submitted.  Not 
many  hours  after  the  close  of  this  fight,  a  few  of 
them  came  down  to  the  beach  carrying  green 
boughs  which  they  stuck  into  the  sand,  and 
placed  beside  them  a  peace-oflFering  of  hogs 
and  dogs  and  bundles  of  native  cloth.  Of 
course  Wallis  was  right  glad  to  accept  it,  and 
in  return  gave  them  presents  of  hatchets,  nails, 
and  other  things.  Peace  was  now  thoroughly 
established,  and  the  two  parties  engaged  in 
amicable  traffic  with  as  much  good  will  as  if 
they  had  neither  quarrelled  nor  fought.  The 
queen  of  the  island  visited  the  ship,  and  from 
that  time  till  the  Dolphin  left,  everything  went 
smoothly. 

The  ignorance  of  the  natives  as  to  the  rela- 
tive value  of  various  metals  was  curiously 
shown  one  day.  In  order  to  find  out  what 
things  they  liked  best,  Captain  Wallis  spread 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  51 

before  them  a  coin  called  a  Johannes,  a  guinea, 
a  crown  piece,  a  Spanish  dollar,  a  few  shillings, 
some  new  halfpence,  and  two  large  nails,  and 
made  signs  to  them  to  help  themselves.  The 
nails  were  first  seized  with  great  eagerness, 
and  then  a  few  of  the  glittering  new  halfpence, 
but  the  silver  and  gold  lay  neglected ! 

The  friendship  thus  established  continued  to 
increase  as  long  as  Wallis  remained  there,  and 
when  at  length  he  took  his  departure  the 
natives  exhibited  every  sign  of  extreme  regret 
— the  queen  especially  was  inconsolable,  and 
wept  bitterly  when  she  bade  them  farewell. 

Such  were  a  few  of  the  scenes  that  occurred 
at  the  discovery  of  Tahiti,  an  island  wliich  has 
since  become  famous  as  the  scene  of  the  resi- 
dence of  the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty,  and  the 
field  of  much  earnest  and  deeply  interesting 
missionary  labour. 


52  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

CAPTAIN  cook's  VISIT  TO  TAHITI. 

LESS  than  two  years  after  the  discovery  of 
Tahiti  by  Wallis,  Captain  Cook  arrived 
in  the  Endeavour  at  the  same  island.  He  first 
saw  its  high  mountains  rise  on  the  horizon  on 
the  11th  of  June  1769,  and  soon  afterwards  a 
few  canoes  came  ofi"  to  the  ship,  but  the  natives 
were  timid  at  first.  They  evidently  had  not 
forgotten  the  thundering  guns  and  crashing 
shot  of  the  Dolphin. 

In  every  canoe  there  were  young  plantains 
and  branches  of  trees,  which  latter  were  in- 
tended as  tokens  of  peace  and  friendship. 
The  people  in  one  of  the  canoes  ventured  to 
the  ship,  and  handed  these  branches  up  the 
side,  making  signals  at  the  same  time  with 
great  earnestness.  At  first  the  sailors  were 
unable  to  make  out  their  meaning,  but  at 
length,  guessing  that  they  wished  those  symbols 
to  be  placed  in  some  conspicuous  part  of  the 
ship,  they  immediately  stuck  them  about  the 
rigging,  upon  which  the  natives  expressed  the 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  53 

greatest  satisfaction.  Cook  then  purchased 
the  cargoes  of  the  canoes,  consisting  of  cocoa- 
nuts  and  various  kinds  of  fruits,  which,  after 
their  long  voyage,  were  most  acceptable. 

Next  morning  the  Endeavour  was  safely- 
anchored  in  a  bay  called  by  the  natives  Matavai. 
Here  the  visitors  were  received  with  much 
kindness.  The  natives  regarded  them  with 
great  respect  and  awe;  the  first  man  who 
approached  them  crouching  so  low  that  he 
almost  crept  on  his  hands  and  knees.  Then 
two  of  the  chiefs  came  forward,  and  each 
selected  his  friend.  One  chose  Cook,  and  the 
other  selected  Mr.  Banks,  and  each,  taking 
off  the  greater  part  of  his  clothes,  put  them 
solemnly  on  his  chosen  friend. 

On  visiting  their  houses  afterwards,  they 
passed  through  delightful  groves  of  trees  which 
were  loaded  with  cocoa-nuts  and  bread-fruit. 
These  were  found  to  be  most  excellent  food. 
Before  becoming  quite  ripe  the  liquid  inside 
the  cocoa-nut  is  said  to  resemble  lemonade ; 
when  riper  it  is  more  like  milk,  and  the  bread- 
fruit nut,  when  properly  dressed,  is  like  the 
crumb  of  wheaten  bread;  so  that  it  may  be 
said  of  those  favoured  regions,  with  some 
degree  of  truth,  that  the  people  find  something 
like  bread  and  milk  growing  on  the  trees ! 
There  is  indeed  little  occasion  there  for  men 
to    work.      The    fruits    of    the    earth    grow 


54  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

luxuriantly  in  a  wild  state ;  hence  the  natives, 
although  a  strong  and  active  race,  are  habitually 
indolent.  It  has  been  proved,  however,  that 
when  the  blessed  influence  of  the  Christian 
religion  is  brought  to  bear  on  them,  the  South 
Sea  islanders  are,  in  mind  and  body,  good 
specimens  of  mankind. 

One  of  the  houses  visited  by  Cook,  in  com- 
pany with  Messrs.  Banks  and  Monkhouse,  Dr. 
Solander  and  others,  on  his  first  landing, was  that 
of  Tootahah,  a  middle-aged  man,  who  seemed 
to  be  a  person  of  rank.  He  received  them  hospit- 
ably, spread  mats  for  the  party,  desired  them  to 
sit  down  by  his  side,  and  gave  them  an  excellent 
dinner  of  bread-fruit,  cocoa-nuts,  plantains,  and 
fish — the  latter  raw  as  well  as  dressed.  Cook 
naturally  preferred  his  fish  cooked,  but  the 
natives  seemed  to  relish  it  raw !  Thereafter 
Tootahah  presented  Mr.  Banks  and  Captain 
Cook  with  a  cock  and  hen,  which  curious  gifts 
they  accepted  with  many  thanks,  and  in  return 
gave  Tootahah  a  laced  silk  neckcloth  and  a 
pocket  handkerchief,  in  which  he  immediately 
dressed  himself  with  immense  satisfaction. 
Mr.  Banks  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  with 
the  savage  ladies,  for  they  pHed  him  earnestly 
with  cocoa-nut  milk.  He,  as  well  as  Cook, 
received  a  further  gift  of  native  cloth,  which, 
although  rough  in  texture,  was  agreeably  per- 
fumed. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  55 

Beads  and  other  ornaments  were  presented 
to  the  women,  and  altogether  the  new  friends 
were  becoming  mutually  delighted  with  each 
other  when  a  sudden  interruption  to  the  har- 
monious meeting  was  caused  by  the  discovery 
that  some  of  the  savages  had  acquired  the  art 
of  picking  pockets.  A  snuff-box  belonging  to 
Mr.  Monkhouse  disappeared,  and  an  opera- 
glass  in  a  shagreen  case,  the  property  of  Dr. 
Solander,  vanished.  To  pass  over  a  first  act 
of  this  kind  lightly  would  have  led  to  inter- 
minable pilferings  and  quarrellings.  Mr.  Banks, 
therefore,  started  up  angrily  and  struck  the  butt 
of  his  musket  violently  on  the  ground. 
Whereupon  the  most  of  the  natives  were 
panic-stricken  and  darted  out  of  the  hut  with 
the  utmost  precipitation.  The  chief  endeavoured 
to  appease  the  wrath  of  his  guests  by  offering 
them  gifts  of  cloth  ;  but  they  were  not  thus  to 
be  silenced.  They  insisted  on  the  restoration 
of  the  stolen  articles,  so  the  chief  went  out  and 
shortly  after  returned  with  a  beaming  counte- 
nance— he  had  found  them  both ;  but  his 
countenance  fell  when,  on  opening  the  case  of 
the  opera-glass,  the  glass  itself  was  not  there. 
With  immense  energy  he  resumed  his  detective 
duties,  and  was  so  fortunate  as  to  recover  the 
glass  in  a  short  time.  Thus  peace  was  restored, 
and  the  natives  were  taught  to  feel  that  their 
propensity  to  steal  would  prove   a   source  of 


56 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


great  annoyance  and  some  danger  to  them 
should  they  venture  to  give  way  to  it  in  future. 

Soon  after  this,  Cook  selected  a  spot  on  the 
beach,  not  far  from  the  ship,  and,  pitching  his 
tent  there,  began  to  arrange  for  making  the 
astronomical  observations  which  had  brought 
him  to  the  South  Seas.  They  had  not  remained 
long,  however,  before  they  found  that  the 
islanders  were  all  addicted  to  stealing.  Cook 
tells  us  that  men  and  women  of  all  ranks  were 
the  "arrantest  thieves  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth,"  yet  they  seemed  to  feel  that  the  act  of 
theft  was  wrong,  for  if  charged  with  being 
guilty,  when  they  were  in  reality  innocent,  they 
were  often  moved  to  passionate  indignation. 

One  day,  when  a  large  number  of  natives 
visited  the  ship,  the  chiefs  employed  them- 
selves in  stealing  what  they  could  in  the  cabin, 
while  their  dependants  were  no  less  industrious 
in  other  parts  of  the  ship.  They  snatched  up 
everything  that  it  was  possible  for  them  to 
secrete  till  they  got  on  shore.  Two  knives  had 
been  lost  on  shore,  one  of  them  belonging  to 
Mr.  Banks,  who  taxed  a  man  named  Tubourai 
Tamaide,  whom  he  suspected,  with  the  theft. 
The  man  denied  it  stoutly,  but  upon  Mr.  Banks 
saying  firmly  that,  no  matter  who  had  taken 
it,  he  was  determined  to  have  it  back,  another 
native,  feeling  alarmed  for  his  own  safety, 
stepped  forward  and  produced  a  rag  in  which 


THE  CANA^IBAL  ISLANDS.  57 

three  knives  were  tied  up.  One  belonged  to  Dr. 
Solander,  another  to  Captain  Cook ;  the  owner 
of  the  third  was  not  known.  Mr.  Banks  con- 
tinued to  charge  Tubourai  Tamaide  with  the 
theft  of  his  knife,  and  the  poor  man  continued 
to  deny  it  indignantly.  Not  long  after,  it  was 
discovered  to  have  been  mislaid  by  Mr.  Banks's 
own  servant,  who  at  length  found  it.  Upon 
this  demonstration  of  his  innocence,  Tubourai 
expressed  strong  emotions  of  mind.  The  fellow 
was,  doubtless,  as  great  a  thief  as  the  rest  of 
his  comrades,  but  on  this  occasion  he  felt  him- 
self to  be  an  injured  innocent,  and  refused  to 
be  comforted  until  ]\Ir.  Banks  expressed  great 
sorrow  for  his  unjust  accusation  and  made  him  a 
few  trifling  presents,  whereupon  he  immediately 
forgot  his  wrongs  and  was  perfectly  reconciled ! 

In  his  dealings  with  these  natives,  Captain 
Cook  invariably  acted  with  the  gentleness,  firm- 
ness, and  wisdom  of  a  truly  great  man,  and  at  all 
times  treated  evil-doers  with  impartial  justice. 

One  day  a  chief  came  to  the  tent  on  the 
beach  in  a  state  of  intense  excitement,  and, 
hastily  seizing  Mr.  Banks  by  the  arm,  made 
signs  that  he  should  follow  him.  ]\Ir.  Banks 
immediately  complied,  and  soon  came  to  a 
place  where  they  found  the  ship's  butcher  with 
a  reaping-hook  in  his  hand.  Here  the  chief 
stopped,  and  in  a  transport  of  rage  explained 
as  well  as  he  could  by  signs,  that  the  butcher 


58  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

had  threatened  to  cut  his  wife's  throat  with 
the  hook.  Mr.  Banks  assured  him  that,  if  he 
could  fully  explain  the  offence,  the  man  should 
be  punished.  Upon  this  he  became  calm,  and 
explained  that  the  offender,  having  taken  a 
fancy  to  a  stone  hatchet  which  lay  in  his 
house,  had  offered  to  purchase  it  of  his  wife 
for  a  nail ;  that  she  having  refused  to  part 
with  it,  he  had  seized  it,  and,  throwing  down 
the  nail,  threatened  to  cut  her  throat  if  she 
made  any  resistance.  As  the  nail  and  hatchet 
were  produced  in  proof  of  this  charge,  and  the 
butcher  had  little  to  say  in  his  defence,  there 
was  no  reason  to  doubt  its  truth. 

On  the  matter  being  reported  to  Cook,  he 
took  the  opportunity  of  the  chief  and  his  wives 
with  a  number  of  natives  being  on  board  the 
ship,  to  call  up  the  butcher,  and,  after  repeating 
the  charge  and  proof,  he  gave  orders  that  the 
man  should  be  punished.  The  natives  looked 
on  with  fixed  attention  while  the  man  was  being 
stripped  and  tied  up  to  the  rigging,  waiting  in 
silent  suspense  for  the  event ;  but  as  soon  as 
the  first  stroke  was  given  they  interfered  with 
great  agitation,  earnestly  entreating  that  he 
might  be  forgiven.  Cook,  however,  did  not 
think  it  advisable  to  agree  to  this.  He  would 
not  consent,  and,  when  they  found  that  their 
entreaties  were  of  no  avail,  they  gave  vent  to 
their  pity  in  tears. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  69 


CHAPTER   VII. 

SHOWS  WHAT  VANITY  WILL  INDUCE  MEN  AND  WOMEN  TO  DO. 

TT  fills  one  with  wonder  to  think  of  the 
J-  strange  and  absurd  things  that  men,  in  all 
ages  and  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  have  done 
to  themselves  in  order  to  improve  their  per- 
sonal appearance.  The  flat-head  Indian  of 
North  America  squeezes  his  forehead  out  of 
shape ;  the  eastern  beauty  blackens  her  teeth 
and  nails  ;  the  Chinaman  shaves  the  hair  of 
his  head,  leaving  a  tuft  on  the  top ;  the 
Englishman  shaves  the  hair  off  his  face,  leaving 
a  tuft  on  each  cheek, — and  all  of  these  deluded 
mortals  run  thus  deliberately  in  the  face  of 
nature,  under  the  impression  that  by  so  doing 
they  are  improving  their  personal  appearance ! 
Not  to  be  behindhand,  the  South  Sea 
islanders  tatoo  themselves.  In  other  words, 
they  prick  a  multitude  of  little  holes  in  their 
skins,  and  rub  into  these  some  colouring 
matter,  which,  when  thoroughly  fixed,  cannot 
again  be  washed  out.  The  ornamental  devices 
with  which  they  thus,  more  or  less,  cover  their 


GO  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

persons,  are  sometimes  very  cleverly  and 
tastefully  done ;  and  they  would  be  really 
admirable  if  depicted  on  a  piece  of  wood  or  a 
sheet  of  paper,  but  when  applied  to  the  human 
body  they  are  altogether  ridiculous. 

The  operation  of  tatooing  is  a  very  painful 
one  ;  so  much  so,  that  a  great  deal  of  it  cannot 
be  done  at  one  time,  and  it  is  said  that  persons 
sometimes  die  during  the  process.  The  in- 
habitants of  nearly  all  the  islands  practise  it. 
Usually  it  is  commenced  at  the  age  of  eight  or 
ten,  and  continued  at  intervals  till  the  indivi- 
dual is  between  twenty  and  thirty  years  of 
age. 

So  important  and  difficult  is  the  art  of 
tatooing,  that  men  devote  themselves  to  it 
professionally,  and  these  professors  are  well 
paid  for  their  work.  Here  is  an  account  of 
the  operation. 

The  professor,  having  his  victim  on  the 
ground  before  him,  takes  up  his  instrument 
of  torture.  This  consists  of  a  small  piece  of 
stick  with  sharp  bones  of  birds  or  fishes 
attached  to  it.  Having  previously  sketched 
with  a  piece  of  charcoal  the  pattern  intended 
to  be  tatooed,  he  dips  the  points  of  the  sharp 
bones  into  a  colouring  matter  (which  is  a 
beautiful  jet  black,  procured  from  the  kernel 
of  the  candle-nut),  applies  it  to  the  surface  of 
tlie  skin,  and  strikes  it  smartly  with  a  piece 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  61 

of  stick  held  in  his  right  hand.  The  skin  is 
punctured  in  this  way,  and  the  dye  injected. 
With  the  calmness  of  an  operator,  and  the 
gravity  of  an  artist,  the  professor  proceeds  as 
long  as  his  patient  can  endure  the  pain.  Then 
he  ceases,  and  when  the  part  is  sufBciently 
recovered,  the  operation  is  continued  until  the 
device  or  pattern  is  finished. 

These  patterns  vary  among  different  islan- 
ders. They  consist  of  circular  and  curving 
lines,  and  representations  of  palm-trees,  animals, 
etc.,  on  the  face  and  body ;  and  to  such  an 
extent  is  tatooing  carried,  that  the  whole  body 
is  sometimes  covered  so  as  nearly  to  conceal 
the  original  colour  of  the  skin. 

Mr,  Ellis,  who  wrote  long  after  the  gallant 
Cook  was  in  his  grave,  tells  us  in  his  most 
interesting  work  on  the  South  Sea  Islands,* 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Tahiti  were  more  simple 
in  their  tatooing,  and  displayed  greater  taste 
and  elegance  than  some  of  the  other  islanders. 
"  Though  some  of  the  figures  are  arbitrary, 
such  as  stars,  circles,  lozenges,  etc.,  the  patterns 
are  usually  taken  from  nature,  and  are  often 
some  of  the  most  graceful.  A  cocoa-nut  tree 
is  a  favourite  object ;  and  I  have  often  admired 
the  taste  displayed  in  the  marking  of  a  chiefs 
leg,  on  which  I  have  seen  a  cocoa-nut  tree 
correctly  and  distinctly  drawn ;  its  roots  spread- 
'  Ellis's  Polynesian  Researches. 


62  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

ing  at  the  heel,  its  elastic  stalk  pencilled  as  it 
were  along  the  tendon,  and  its  waving  plume 
gracefully  spread  out  on  the  broad  part  of  the 
calf.  Sometimes  a  couple  of  stems  would  be 
twined  up  from  the  heel  and  divide  on  the 
calf,  each  bearing  a  plume  of  leaves. 

"  The  ornaments  round  the  ankle  and  upon 
the  instep,  make  them  often  appear  as  if  they 
wore  the  elegant  eastern  sandal.  The  sides  of 
the  legs  are  sometimes  tatooed  from  the  ankle 
upward,  which  gives  the  appearance  of  wearing 
pantaloons  with  ornamental  seams.  From  the 
lower  part  of  the  back,  a  number  of  straight, 
waved,  or  zi2;-zag  lines  rise  in  the  direction  of 
the  spine,  and  branch  off  regularly  towards  the 
shoulder.  But,  of  the  upper  part  of  the  body, 
the  chest  is  the  most  tatooed.  Every  variety 
of  figure  is  to  be  seen  here, — cocoa-nut  and 
bread-fruit  trees,  with  convolvulus  wreaths 
hanging  round  them,  boys  gathering  fruit,  men 
engaged  in  battle,  in  the  manual  exercise, 
triumphing  over  a  fallen  foe ;  or,  as  I  have 
frequently  seen  it,  they  are  represented  as 
carrying  a  human  sacrifice  to  the  temple. 
Every  kind  of  animal — goats,  dogs,  fowls,  and 
fish — may  at  times  be  seen  on  this  part  of  the 
body ;  muskets,  swords,  pistols,  clubs,  spears, 
and  other  weapons  of  war,  are  also  stamped 
upon  their  arms  and  chest." 

These  figures  are  not  all  crowded  upon  the 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  63 

Bame  person,  but  each  man  makes  a  selection 
according  to  his  fancy.  The  women  also  tatoo 
their  persons,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  as  the 
men,  and  their  designs  and  figures  are  usually 
more  tasteful. 

Cook  says  that  Mr.  Banks  saw  this  operation 
performed  on  the  back  of  a  girl  about  thirteen 
years  old.  The  instrument  used  upon  this 
occasion  had  thirty  teeth ;  about  a  hundred 
strokes  were  given  in  the  minute,  and  each 
stroke  drew  a  little  blood.  The  girl  bore  it 
bravely  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  but  at 
the  end  of  that  time  the  pain  of  so  many" 
hundred  punctures  became  unbearable.  She 
first  complained  in  murmurs,  then  wept,  and  at 
last  burst  into  loud  lamentations,  earnestly 
beseeching  the  operator  to  stop.  He,  however, 
firmly  refused,  and  when  she  began  to  struggle, 
she  was  held  down  by  two  women,  who  some- 
times soothed  and  sometimes  scolded  her,  and, 
now  and  then,  when  she  became  very  unruly, 
gave  her  a  smart  blow.  Mr.  Banks  stayed  in  a 
neighbouring  house  an  hour,  and  the  operation 
was  not  over  when  he  went  away,  yet  it  was 
performed  only  on  one  side  of  the  back ;  the 
other  had  been  tatooed  some  time  before,  and 
the  loins  had  still  to  be  done. 

Tahiti  is  now  one  of  the  civilized  islands  of 
the  South  Seas.  At  the  time  of  Cook's  visit, 
the   natives   were   absolutely  savages.      They 


64  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

lived  in  a  state  of  partial  nakedness,  and  their 
manners  and  customs  were  of  the  grossest 
description.  Their  religion  and  superstitions 
were  degrading  in  the  extreme,  and,  until 
Christianity  obtained  a  hold  upon  them,  they 
delighted  in  war,  and  practised  homble  cruel- 
ties on  their  enemies. 

Yet,  even  in  their  low  condition,  there  were 
good  points  about  those  islanders.  Cook  says 
that  they  were  as  large  as  the  largest-sized 
Europeans.  The  men  were  tall,  strong,  well- 
limbed,  and  finely  shaped.  The  tallest  he  saw, 
on  a  neighbouring  island,  was  a  man  who 
measured  six  feet  three  inches  and  a  half. 
The  women  of  the  superior  rank  were  above 
our  middle  stature,  but  those  of  the  inferior 
class  rather  below  it.  Their  complexion  was  a 
kind  of  clear  olive  or  brunette,  and  the  skin  of 
the  women  was  smooth  and  soft.  They  had 
no  colour  in  their  cheeks,  but  their  faces  were 
comely  ;  the  cheek-bones  were  not  high,  neither 
were  the  eyes  hollow.  Their  eyes  were  spark- 
ling and  full  of  expression,  and  their  teeth 
good,  but  their  noses  being  flat,  did  not 
correspond  with  his  ideas  of  beauty.  Their 
hair  was  black  and  coarse.  The  men  had 
beards,  which  they  wore  in  many  fashions, 
always,  however,  plucking  out  great  part  of 
them,  and  keeping  the  rest  perfectly  clean  and 
neat. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  65 

In  most  countries  it  is  the  custom  of  the 
men  to  wear  short  and  the  women  long  hair. 
Here,  however,  Cook  found  this  custom  reversed. 
The  women  cut  it  short  round  the  ears,  and 
the  men — except  the  fishermen,  who  were 
almost  continually  in  the  water — suffered  it  to 
flow  in  large  waves  over  their  shoulders,  or 
tied  it  up  in  a  bunch  on  the  top  of  their  heads. 
They  were  in  the  habit  of  anointing  it  with 
cocoa-nut  oil,  which  had  the  effect  of  rendering 
their  heads  very  filthy ;  but  in  other  respects 
the  natives  of  Tahiti  were  remarkable  for 
cleanliness. 

Their  clothing  consisted  of  native-made  cloth 
or  matting,  and  was  very  scanty,  but  in  many 
cases  was  tastefully  put  on  and  intermingled 
with  flowers.  Some  of  the  men  wore  a  feather 
in  their  hair ;  others  wore  a  Avig  made  of  the 
hair  of  men  and  dogs.  Both  sexes  wore  ear- 
rings made  of  pieces  of  stone,  shells,  or  berries, 
which  were  speedily  exchanged,  however,  for 
the  beads  given  to  them  by  the  sailors,  for, 
like  all  other  savages,  they  delighted  in  gay 
ornaments. 

The  houses  of  these  people  were  very  simple. 
They  comsisted  of  nothing  more  than  a  thatched 
roof  mounted  upon  pillars.  They  had  no  walls 
whatever,  and  were  open  to  every  wind  of 
heaven,  but  in  so  Avarm  a  climate  this  was  not 
considered    a   disadvantage.     There   were   no 


GQ  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

rooms  or  partitions  of  any  kind  in  tliem,  and 
they  were  usually  large.  Some  belonged  to 
families,  others  were  the  public  property  of 
a  district,  and  these  last  were  sometimes  two 
hundred  feet  long  by  thirty  broad. 

All  the  houses  were  built  in  the  woods  that 
lay  between  the  sea  and  the  mountains.  No 
more  ground  was  cleared  for  each  house  than 
was  just  sufficient  to  prevent  the  droppings  of 
the  branches  from  falling  on  the  roof;  so  that 
the  inhabitant  could  step  at  once  from  his 
cottage  into  the  shade  of  the  forest,  which  was 
the  most  delightful  and  romantic  that  could 
be  imagined.  It  consisted  of  groves  of  bread- 
fruit and  cocoa-nut  trees  without  underwood, 
and  paths  led  in  all  directions  through  it  from 
one  house  to  another.  Only  those  travellers 
Avho  have  experienced  the  intense  overpowering 
heat  of  tropical  countries  can  form  a  just 
conception  of  the  enjoyableness  of  a  ramble 
through  the  shady  groves  of  Tahiti. 

The  food  eaten  by  the  natives  was  chiefly 
vegetable.  They  had  tame  hogs,  dogs,  and 
poultry,  but  these  were  not  plentiful,  and  the 
visit  of  Cook's  ship  soon  diminished  the 
numbers  of  animals  very  considerably.  When 
a  chief  killed  a  hog  it  was  divided  almost 
equally  amongst  his  dependants,  and  as  these 
were  numerous,  the  share  of  each  individual  at 
a  feast  was  not  laxsre.     Dogs  and  fowls  fell  to 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  67 

the  lot  of  the  lower  classes.  Cook  says  that 
he  could  not  commend  the  flavour  of  their 
fowls,  but  he  and  his  crew  unanimously  agreed 
that  a  South  Sea  dog  was  little  inferior  to 
English  lamb !  He  conjectured  that  their 
excellence  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  fed  exclusively  upon  vegetables. 

Like  everything  else  in  Tahiti,  the  art  of 
cooking  was  somewhat  peculiar.  The  prepara- 
tion of  a  dog  for  dinner  is  thus  described  : — 
"  The  dog,  which  was  very  fat,  we  consigned 
over  to  Tupia,  who  undertook  to  perform  the 
double  oflSce  of  butcher  and  cook.  He  killed 
him  by  holding  his  hands  close  over  his  moutli 
and  nose,  an  operation  Avhich  continued  above 
a  quarter  of  an  hour.  While  this  was  going 
on,  a  hole  was  made  in  the  ground  about  a  foot 
deep,  in  which  a  fire  was  kindled,  and  some 
small  stones  were  placed  in  layers  alternately 
with  the  wood  to  get  heated.  The  dog  was 
then  singed  by  holding  him  over  the  fire,  and 
by  scraping  him  with  a  shell,  the  hair  came 
off  as  clean  as  if  he  had  been  scalded  in  hot 
water.  He  was  then  cut  up  with  the  same 
instrument,  and  his  entrails,  being  taken  out, 
were  sent  to  the  sea,  where,  being  carefully 
washed,  they  were  put  into  cocoa-nut  shells 
with  what  blood  came  from  tlie  body. 

"  When  the  hole  was  sufficiently  lieated,  the 
fire  was  removed,  and  some  of  the  stones, — 


68  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS, 

which  were  not  so  hot  as  to  discolour  anything 
that  touched  them, — being  placed  in  the  Ijottom, 
were  covered  with  green  leaves.  The  dog  and 
the  entrails  were  then  placed  upon  the  leaves, 
other  leaves  were  placed  above  them,  the  whole 
was  covered  up  -with  the  remainder  of  the  hot 
stones,  and  the  mouth  of  the  hole  was  closed 
with  mould.  In  somewhat  less  than  four 
hours  it  was  again  opened  and  the  dog  taken 
out  excellently  baked.  Nearly  all  the  fish  and 
flesh  eaten  by  the  inhabitants  is  dressed  in 
this  way." 

The  sea  in  those  regions  affords  the  natives 
great  variety  of  fish ;  the  smaller  of  which  they 
usually  eat  raw.  They  have  also  lobsters,  crabs, 
and  other  shell-fish,  all  of  which  they  are  very 
fond  of.  Indeed,  nothing  seems  to  come  amiss 
to  them.  They  even  eat  what  sailors  call 
blubbers,  though  some  of  these  are  so  tough 
that  they  have  to  allow  them  to  become  putrid 
before  they  can  chew  them. 

Their  chief  vegetable,  the  bread-fruit,  is  so 
curious  a  plant  that  it  merits  particular  notice. 
It  costs  them  no  more  trouble  or  labour  to  pro- 
cure it  than  the  climbing  of  a  tree.  In  regard 
to  this  tree  Cook  says  that  it  does  not  indeed 
shoot  up  spontaneously,  but  if  a  man  plants  ten 
of  them  in  his  lifetime,  which  he  may  do  in 
about  an  hour,  he  wiU  sufficiently  fulfil  his  duty 
to  his  own  and  to  future  generations.     True, 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  69 

the  bread-fruit  is  not  always  in  season ;  but 
when  its  ready-made  loaves  are  not  to  be  had, 
the  South-sea  islander  has  plenty  of  cocoa-nuts, 
bananas,  plantains,  and  other  fruits  to  supply 
its  place. 

The  bread-fruit  tree  is  large  and  beautiful. 
Its  trunk,  which  is  light-coloured  and  rough, 
grows  to  a  height  of  twelve  or  twenty  feet,  and 
is  sometimes  three  feet  in  diameter.  Its  leaves 
are  broad,  dark  green,  and  a  foot  or  eighteen 
inches  long.  The  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  child's 
head,  is  round,  covered  with  a  rough  rind,  and 
is  at  first  of  a  light  pea-green  hue ;  subsequently 
it  changes  to  brown,  and,  when  fully  ripe, 
assumes  a  rich  yellow  colour.  It  hangs  to  the 
branches  singly,  or  in  clusters  of  two  or  three 
together.  One  of  these  magnificent  trees,  clothed 
with  its  dark  shining  leaves  and  loaded  with 
many  hundreds  of  large  light  green  or  yellowish 
fruit,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  to  be 
met  with  among  the  islands  of  the  south. 

The  pulp  of  the  bread-fruit  between  the  rind 
and  the  core  is  all  eatable.  The  core  itself, 
which  is  about  the  size  and  shape  of  the  handle 
of  a  knife,  is  uneatable.  The  bread-fruit  is 
never  eaten  raw.  The  usual  mode  of  dressing 
it  is  to  remove  the  rind  and  the  core,  divide 
the  pulp  into  three  or  four  pieces,  and  bake  it 
in  an  oven  similar  to  the  one  just  described. 
WTien  taken  out,  in  somewhat  less  than   an 


70  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

hour,  the  outside  of  the  fruit  is  nicely  browned, 
and  the  inner  part  so  strongly  resembles  the 
crumb  of  wheaten  bread  as  to  have  sus-o-ested 
the  name  of  the  tree.  It  is  not,  however,  quite 
so  pleasant  to  the  taste,  being  rather  insipid 
and  slightly  SAveet,  Nevertheless  it  is  extremely 
good  for  food,  and  is  much  prized  by  the  natives, 
to  whom  it  may  almost  be  said  to  be  the  staff 
of  life. 

The  tree  on  which  this  excellent  fruit  grows, 
besides  producing  two,  and,  in  some  cases,  three 
crops  in  a  year,  furnishes  a  species  of  gum,  or 
resin,  which  oozes  from  the  bark  Avhen  cut,  and 
hardens  when  exposed  to  the  sun.  It  is  used 
for  pitching  the  seams  of  canoes.  The  bark  of 
the  young  branches  is  employed  in  making 
several  varieties  of  native  cloth.  The  wood  of 
the  tree  is  also  valuable  for  building  houses  and 
canoes.  There  are  nearly  fifty  varieties  of  the 
bread-fruit  tree,  for  which  the  natives  have 
distinct  names,  and  as  these  varieties  ripen  at 
different  times,  there  are  few  months  in  the  year 
in  which  the  fruit  is  not  to  be  had. 

Not  less  valuable  to  the  natives  of  these 
islands  is  the  cocoa-nut  tree,  the  stem  of 
which  is  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter  at  the 
root,  whence  it  tapers  gradually  without  branch 
or  leaf  to  the  top,  where  it  terminates  in  a 
beautiful  tuft  or  plume  of  long  green  leaves 
which  wave  gracefully  in  every  breeze. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  71 

One  of  the  singular  peculiarities  of  this  tree 
is  its  power  of  flourishing  in  almost  any  soil. 
It  grows  equally  well  on  the  mountain  side,  in 
the  rich  valleys  beside  the  streams,  and  on  the 
barren  sea-beach  of  the  coral  reefs,  where  its 
only  soil  is  sand,  and  where  its  roots  are  watered 
by  the  waves  of  every  rising  tide.  Another 
peculiarity  is,  that  fruit  in  every  stage  may  be 
seen  on  the  same  tree  at  one  time — from  the 
first  formation,  after  the  falling  of  the  blossom, 
to  the  ripe  nut.  As  the  tree  is  slow  in  growth, 
the  nuts  do  not  probably  come  to  perfection 
until  twelve  months  after  the  blossoms  have 
fallen.  The  successive  ripening  of  the  nuts, 
therefore,  seems  to  have  been  purposely  arranged 
by  our  beneficent  Creator,  with  a  special  view 
to  the  comfort  of  man.  Each  nut  is  surrounded 
by  a  tough  husk,  or  shell,  nearly  two  inches 
thick,  and  when  it  has  reached  its  full  size  it 
contains  a  pint,  or  a  pint  and  a  half,  of  the  juice 
usually  called  cocoa-nut  milk. 

The  kernels  of  the  tough  outer  husks,  above 
referred  to,  are  the  "  cocoa-nuts"  which  we  see 
exposed  for  sale  in  this  country,  but  these  nuts 
give  no  idea  of  the  delightful  fruit  when  plucked 
from  the  tree.  They  are  old  and  dry,  and  the 
milk  is  comparatively  rancid.  In  the  state  in 
which  we  usually  see  cocoa-nuts  they  are  never 
used  by  the  natives  except  as  seed,  or  for  the 
extraction  of  oil. 


72  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS, 

Some  varieties  of  this  tree  grow  to  a  height 
of  sixty  or  seventy  feet.  As  all  the  nuts  are 
at  the  top,  the  gathering  of  them  would  be  an 
extremely  difficult  matter  were  it  not  for  an 
ingenious  contrivance  by  which  the  natives 
manage  to  climb  the  trees;  for  it  may  be 
easily  understood  that  to  shin  up  an  exceed- 
ingly rough  pole  of  seventy  feet  high,  with 
bare  legs,  would  try  the  metal  of  most  men — 
civilized  as  well  as  savage.  The  plan  is  simple. 
The  native  strips  off  a  piece  of  tough  bark 
from  a  branch,  and  therewith  ties  his  feet 
together,  leaving  them,  however,  several  inches 
apart,  grasping  the  trunk  with  his  arms  he 
presses  his  feet  against  each  side  of  the  tree  so 
that  the  piece  of  bark  between  them  catches 
in  the  roughesses  of  the  stem ;  this  gives  him 
a  purchase  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  leap  or 
vault  up  like  a  monkey. 

The  wood  of  the  tree  is  excellent.  The 
natives  make  pillars  for  their  houses  and  their 
best  spears  from  it.  A  species  of  what  we 
may  call  natural  cloth  is  found,  ready  made,  on 
its  leaves,  with  which  they  make  sacks,  and 
shirts,  and  jackets.  Plaited  leaflets  form 
coverings  for  their  floors.  Baskets  are  made 
from  the  leaves ;  matting  and  cordage  of  the 
fibrous  husk,  and  oil  is  extracted  from  the  nut. 
Besides  all  this,  the  shells  of  the  old  nuts  are 
used  as  water  bottles,  and,  when  carved  and 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


73 


highly  polished,  they  form   elegant  drinking- 
cups. 

The  perfect  adaptation  of  the  bread-fruit 
and  cocoa-nut  trees  to  the  varied  wants  of  the 
South-sea  islanders,  tells,  more  eloquently  than 
could  be  told  in  words,  of  the  wisdom  and 
benevolence  with  which  the  Almighty  cares 
for  His  creatures,  even  while  those  creatures 
are  living  in  the  habitual  neglect  of  Himself, 
and  in  the  violation  of  all  His  laws. 


74  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TBEATS  OF  SAVAGE  WARFARE  AND  SOME  OF  ITS 
CONSEQUENCES. 

T  has  been  said  that  the  natives  of  the 
innumerable  islands  of  the  South  Sea  are 
fond  of  war.  All  travellers  to  those  regions 
bear  witness  to  this  fact.  When  Cook  went 
there,  the  natives  of  all  of  them  were  absolute 
savages.  At  the  present  time  a  great  number 
of  the  islands  have  been  blessed  with  the  light 
of  Christianity,  but  some  of  them  are  still  lying 
in  the  state  of  degradation  in  which  they  were 
first  found. 

At  this  moment,  reader,  while  you  ponder 
these  lines,  there  are  men  of  the  South  Seas 
who  wander  about  in  a  state  of  nudity  and 
idleness ;  who  practise  every  species  of  abomi- 
nation, and  kUl,  roast,  and  eat  each  other,  just 
as  they  did  a  hundred  years  ago. 

The  eating  of  human  beings,  or,  as  it  is 
called,  cannibalism,  is  no  idle  tale  invented  by 
travellers.  ]\Ien  of  the  highest  character  for 
truth,   who  have   had  ample  opportunity  for 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  75 

observation,  from  the  time  of  Cook  to  the 
present  day,  have  assured  us  that  the  natives 
of  those  lovely  regions  are  cannibals.  That 
they  not  only  eat  the  bodies  of  enemies  slain 
in  war,  but  even  kill  and  eat  their  own  slaves. 
Of  this  you  shall  hear  more  anon ;  meanwhile, 
let  us  turn  aside  to  see  how  these  savage 
warriors  go  forth  to  battle. 

"When  it  has  been  decided  that  they  shall  go 
to  war,  the  natives  of  the  South-sea  islands 
commence  their  preparations  with  human 
sacrifices  to  the  god  of  war.  After  many 
strange,  bloody,  and  superstitious  rites,  the 
warriors  arm  themselves  and  prepare  for  the 
fight. 

Their  weapons,  which  they  use  with  great 
dexterity,  are  slings  for  throAving  heavy  stones, 
pikes  headed  vdi\\  the  bones  of  sting-rays,  and 
clubs  about  six  or  seven  feet  long,  made  of  a 
very  hard  and  heavy  wood.  In  some  instances 
these  are  richly  carved.  The  chief  of  each 
district  leads  his  own  subjects  to  the  field,  and 
reports  the  number  of  his  men  to  the  leading 
chief.  When  all  are  assembled  they  sally 
forth.  If  the  fight  is  to  take  place  on  land,  it 
is  sometimes  begun  by  the  celebrated  warriors 
of  each  army  marching  to  the  front  of  their 
respectives  lines,  and  sitting  down  on  the 
ground.  Several  of  these  then  step  forward, 
and  boastfully  challenge  each  other  to  combat. 


76  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

The  challenge  is  usually  accepted  at  once,  and 
after  taunting  each  other  for  some  time,  they 
engage  in  furious  battle.  When  one  falls,  a 
man  from  his  side  rises  and  steps  forward  to 
fill  his  place  and  continue  the  fight.  If  either 
party  gives  way,  then  the  main  body  of  the 
army  to  which  it  belongs  rushes  forward  to 
its  support.  The  opposing  army  of  course 
springs  forward  to  meet  them,  and  thus  the  fight 
becomes  general.  The  main  bodies  advance 
in  ranks  four  deep.  In  the  first  rank  are  the 
bravest  men  armed  with  spears ;  in  the  second 
rank,  they  are  armed  with  clubs  to  defend  the 
spearmen.  The  third  row  consists  of  young 
men  with  slings,  and  the  fourth  is  composed  of 
women  who  carry  baskets  of  stones  for  the 
slingers,  and  clubs  and  spears  for  the  other 
combatants. 

There  is  no  science  displayed  in  their  mode 
of  fighting.  The  opposing  armies  rush  upon 
each  other  with  terrible  fury,  dealing  deadly 
blows  and  thrusts  with  their  murderous 
weapons.  The  din  and  clamour  of  the  fray  is 
increased  by  a  class  of  men  whose  duty  it  is 
to  animate  the  troops  by  voice  and  gesture. 
These  may  be  styled  the  orators  of  battle,  and 
are  usually  men  of  commanding  stature  and 
well-tried  courage.  They  mingle  in  the  thickest 
of  the  fight;  hurry  to  and  fro,  cheering  the 
men    with    the    passionate    recital    of   heroic 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  77 

deeds,  and,  in  every  possible  way,  rousing  their 
courage  and  urging  them  on  to  deeds  of 
valour.  Pressing  through  the  host  with  flash- 
ing eyes  and  thundering  voice,  they  shout  such 
abrupt  sentences  as  the  following — "  Eoll 
onward  like  the  billows !  Break  on  them  with 
the  ocean's  foam  and  roar  when  bursting  on 
the  reefs !  Hang  on  them  as  the  forked  light- 
ning plays  above  the  frothing  surf !  Give  out 
the  vigilance;  give  out  the  anger — the  anger 
of  the  devouring  wild  dog — till  their  line  is 
broken ;  till  they  flow  back  like  the  receding 
tide"!  Amid  such  cries,  mingled  with  the 
shouts  of  maddened  combatants,  and  the  yells 
of  stricken  men,  the  fight  goes  on.  They  use 
no  shields.  Believing  that  the  gods  direct 
their  weapons,  they  make  no  attempt  to  guard, 
but  lay  about  them  with  blind  fury.  Blows 
do  not  often  require  to  be  repeated.  Skulls 
are  cleft  or  battered  in ;  and  hearts  are  pierced 
with  one  blow  or  thrust,  and,  Avhen  noted 
warriors  fall  on  either  side,  shouts  of  triumph 
echo  along  the  line  and  strike  a  panic  through 
the  enemy's  ranks. 

The  first  wounded  man  who  can  be  seized 
before  being  quite  dead  is  offered  in  sacrifice 
by  his  foes.  He  is  not  taken  to  their  temple 
for  that  purpose,  but  his  head  is  bound  round 
with  sacred  cinet  brought  from  the  temple, 
and  he   is    then    laid    alive  on  a  number  of 

X 


78  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

spears  and  borne  on  men's  shoulders  along  the 
ranks,  the  priest  of  the  god  of  war  walking 
alongside  and  watching  the  writhings  of  the 
djdng  man.  If  a  tear  falls  from  his  eye  it  is 
said  he  is  weeping  for  his  land.  If  he  should 
clench  his  fist  it  is  supposed  to  be  a  sign  that 
his  party  AviU  resist  to  the  last. 

If  a  great  chief  falls,  the  party  to  which  he 
belongs  retires  a  short  distance,  collects  some 
of  the  bravest  men,  and  then  rushes  with  in- 
credible fury  and  yells  of  vengeance  upon  the 
foe  to  "  clear  away  the  blood."  The  shock  is 
terrific  when  the  contending  parties  meet,  and 
numbers  usually  fall  on  both  sides. 

During  the  battle  the  armies  sometimes 
separate  a  little  distance  for  a  time,  leaving  a 
space  between  them,  then  the  shngers  of  stones 
advance.  The  most  expert  of  these  slingers 
are  renowned  warriors,  and  when  they  are  recog- 
nised a  shout  arises  from  the  opposite  ranks, 
"  Beware !  a  powerful  stone  is  such  an  one." 
At  short  range  the  stones  about  the  size  of  a 
hen's  egg  are  thrown  straight  at  the  enemy 
with  such  force  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
avoid  them,  so  that  they  do  much  execution. 
But  soon  again  the  lines  close  and  the  fight  ia 
renewed  hand  to  hand. 

At  length  one  of  the  lines  begins  to  waver. 
Seeing  this  the  others  are  encouraged  to  re- 
newed efforts,  their  enemies  at  last  break  and 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  79 

fly,  and  then  a  scene  of  terrible  carnage  follows. 
The  vanquished  rush  to  their  canoes,  or  fly  to 
the  strongholds  of  the  mountains.  The  victors 
continue  the  pursuit,  slaughtering  men  and 
women  indiscriminately.  A  fallen  warrior  per- 
chance cries  for  mercy,  "  Spare  me!  may  I  live  ?" 
says  he.  If  the  name  of  his  conqueror's  chief 
or  king  is  invoked,  the  request  is  sometimes 
granted;  if  not,  the  only  reply  is  a  taunt, 
followed  by  a  thrust  or  a  deadly  blow.  Thus 
the  scene  of  murder  and  blood  goes  on  until 
the  fugitives  have  reached  their  strongholds,  or 
until  the  shades  of  evening  put  an  end  to  the 
pursuit. 

Such  were  the  scenes  that  took  place  in  the 
days  of  Captain  Cook,  and  such  or  similar 
scenes  still  occur  frequently  at  the  present 
time  on  the  coral  isles  of  the  Pacific. 

When  their  wars  are  conducted  on  the  sea, 
the  islanders  embark  in  war-canoes,  which  are 
so  large  as  to  be  able  to  carry  from  sixty  to 
eighty  and  even  a  hundred  men.  Captain 
Cook  tells  us  that  the  ingenuity  of  these  people 
appears  in  nothing  more  than  in  their  canoes. 
They  are  long  and  narrow.  One  that  he 
measured  was  sixty-eight  feet  and  a  half  long, 
five  feet  broad,  and  three  feet  and  a  half  deep. 
The  bottom  was  sharp,  with  straight  sides  like 
a  wedge.  Each  side  consisted  of  one  entire 
plank  sixty-three  feet  long,  ten  or  twelve  inches 


80 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


broad,  and  an  inch  and  a  quarter  thick.  The 
bottom  part  of  the  canoe  was  hollowed  out  and 
these  planks  were  lashed  to  it  with  strong 
plaiting.  A  grotesque  ornament  projected  six 
feet  beyond  the  head,  and  it  had  a  sort  of 
stern-post  that  rose  to  a  height  of  about  four- 
teen feet.  Both  the  head  and  stern-post  were 
beautifully  carved,  and  the  canoe  was  pro- 
pelled by  means  of  short  paddles,  the  men 
sitting  with  their  faces  in  the  direction  in 
which  they  were  going.  The  heads  of  many 
of  the  canoes  were  curious,  in  some  cases  it  was 
the  figure  of  a  man  with  a  face  as  ugly  as  can 
well  be  conceived,  with  a  monstrous  tongue 
thrust  out  of  the  mouth,  and  white  shells  stuck 
in  for  eyes. 

In  such  canoes  they  went  forth  to  war  upon 
the  water,  and  their  sea-fights  were  not  less 
sanguinary  than  those  of  the  land.  In  one 
battle  that  was  fought  between  the  people  of 
Huahine  and  those  of  Raiatea  immense  slaughter 
took  place.  The  fleet  of  one  side  consisted  of 
ninety  war-canoes,  each  about  a  hundred  feet 
long,  and  filled  with  men.  They  met  near  a 
place  called  Hooroto,  when  a  most  obstinate 
and  bloody  engagement  ensued.  Both  parties 
lost  so  many  men  that,  when  piled  up  on  the 
day  after  the  battle,  the  dead  bodies  formed  a 
heap  "  as  high  as  the  young  cocoa-nut  trees." 

The  captives  taken  in  these  wars  were  usually 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  81 

murdered  on  the  spot,  unless  reserved  for  slaves 
to  their  conquerors. 

One  of  the  results  of  these  sanguinary  fights 
is  the  existence  of  a  number  of  what  may  be 
called  wild  men  in  the  mountains  of  the  islands. 
Ellis,  in  his  Polynesian  Researches,  tells  us  that 
he  once  saw  one  of  these  men  who  had  been 
caught  in  the  mountains,  and  was  at  that  time 
comparatively  tame,  yet  his  appearance  was 
very  remarkable.  He  was  about  the  middle 
size,  large  boned,  but  not  fleshy.  His  features 
and  countenance  were  strongly  marked.  His 
complexion  was  dark,  and  his  aspect  agitated 
and  wild.  His  beard  was  long,  and  the  hair  of 
his  head  upwards  of  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length. 
It  was  parted  on  his  forehead,  but  was  matted 
and  dishevelled.  The  colour  of  his  hair  was 
singular.  At  the  roots  it  was  black,  six  inches 
from  his  head  it  was  light  brown,  and  the 
extremities  were  light  yellow.  He  was  quite 
naked,  with  the  exception  of  a  maro  or  girdle 
round  the  loins.  This  poor  creature  had  been 
driven  to  the  mountains  in  time  of  war,  and 
had  remained  in  solitude  for  many  years.  Pro- 
bably extreme  terror  had  afiected  his  mind,  for 
he  was  gloomy,  and  seemed  to  take  no  interest 
in  anything  going  on  around  him.  Evidently 
those  "  wild  men  "  were  poor  creatures  whose 
misfortunes  had  driven  them  mad. 

One  of  them  was  captured  on  another  occa- 


82  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

sion  by  a  party  which  had  gone  into  the 
mountains  to  collect  the  bark  of  a  certain  tree 
which  is  used  for  dyeing  cloth.  On  their  way 
they  perceived  a  man  lying  asleep  on  the 
ground.  They  surrounded  him  with  as  little 
noise  as  possible,  but  when  they  approached 
he  awoke.  Leaping  up,  he  flung  his  wild  locks 
over  his  shoulders  and  gazed  at  them  with  a 
startled  look,  then  he  darted  into  the  woods, 
where  he  was  caught  by  one  of  the  men  and 
secured.  Had  he  not  been  enfeebled  from 
recent  illness,  they  could  neither  have  caught 
nor  retained  this  man. 

On  being  taken  he  exliibited  signs  of  extreme 
terror.  It  was  in  vain  that  his  captors  assured 
him  they  meant  him  no  harm ;  he  continued 
to  exclaim,  "Ye  are  murderers,  ye  are  mur- 
derers! do  not  murder  me,  do  not  murder 
me!"  Even  after  he  had  been  taken  to  the 
settlement  and  treated  with  great  kindness,  he 
could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  say  anything  more 
than  "  Do  not  kill  me,"  and  did  not  rest  until 
he  had  made  his  escape  into  the  woods 


t 


TUE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  83 


CHAPTER  IX. 


TOUCHES  ON  CANNIBALISM. 


THE  cnielties  inflicted  on  the  wretched 
prisoners  taken  in  these  wars  were  incon- 
ceivably horrible  and  disgusting.  Some  of  our 
readers  may,  perhaps,  think  we  might  have 
passed  over  the  sickening  details  in  sUence, 
but  we  feel  strongly  that  it  is  better  that  truth 
should  be  known  than  that  the  feelings  of  the 
sensitive  should  be  spared. 

Ellis  tells  us  that  the  bodies  of  men  slain 
in  battle  were  usually  left  to  be  devoured  by 
the  hogs  and  wUd  dogs.  This  was  doubtless 
the  case  in  some  of  the  groups  of  islands  where 
cannibalism  was  perhaps  not  very  much  prac- 
tised, but  in  other  groups — especially  among 
those  known  by  the  name  of  the  Feejees — the 
slain  were  more  frequently  devoured  by  men 
and  women  than  by  hogs  or  dogs.  The  victors 
used  to  carry  ofi"  the  lower  jaw-bones  of  the  most 
distinguished  among  the  slain  as  trophies,  and 
also  the  bones  of  the  arms  and  legs,  from  which 
they  formed  tools  of  various  kinds  and  fish- 


84  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

hooks,  and  the  skulls  they  converted  into 
drinking-cups.  The  dead  bodies  were  some- 
times laid  in  rows  along  the  beach,  and  used 
as  rollers,  over  which  the  canoes  were  launched. 

One  of  their  practices  with  the  dead  was 
ludicrously"  horrible.  Sometimes,  when  a  man 
had  slain  his  enemy,  in  order  to  gratify  his 
revenge,  he  would  beat  the  body  quite  flat,  and 
then,  cutting  a  hole  through  the  back  and 
stomach,  would  pass  his  head  through  it  and 
actually  rush  into  the  fight  wearing  the  body 
round  his  neck,  with  the  head  and  arms  hanging 
down  in  front,  and  the  legs  behind ! 

The  bodies  of  celebrated  warriors  and  chiefs 
were  hung  by  a  rope  to  a  tree,  after  the  legs 
and  arms  had  been  broken;  cords  were  attached 
to  their  feet,  and  then  they  were  drawn  up  and 
down  for  the  amusement  of  the  spectators, 
while  other  dead  bodies  were  beaten  as  drums, 
to  make  a  hideous  music  to  this  horrible 
dance. 

Other  brutalities  were  practised  upon  the 
slain,  which  were  of  such  a  nature  that  decency 
forbids  our  doing  more  than  merely  alluding  to 
them  here.  In  order  to  show  that  many  of 
the  savages  of  the  South  Seas  were  as  bad, 
only  a  few  years  ago,  as  they  were  in  former 
times,  we  give  the  following  account  of  a  scene 
which  is  published  and  vouched  for  in  a  recent 
work,  named  the  Journal  of  a  Cruise  among  tJie 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  85 

Islands  of  the  Western  Pacific,  by  Captain 
Erskine  of  the  Royal  Navy  : — 

About  twenty  years  ago  Bonavidongo,  one  of 
the  chiefs  of  the  Feejee  islands,  paid  a  visit  to 
another  chief  named  Tuithakau,  for  the  purpose 
of  asking  his  assistance  in  quelling  a  disturbance 
that  had  arisen  in  a  neighbouring  island.  The 
latter  agreed;  all  the  warriors  of  the  island 
and  the  surrounding  district  were  gathered 
together,  and  an  army  of  two  thousand  men 
finally  set  forth  on  this  expedition  in  forty 
war-canoes. 

Among  the  people  was  an  English  sailor 
named  Jackson.  He  was  of  a  roving  disposi- 
tion ;  had  been  kidnapped  at  one  of  the  islands, 
from  which  he  escaped,  and  afterwards  wandered 
for  two  years  among  the  South-sea  Islands — 
learned  the  language  of  the  natives,  and  wrote 
an  account  of  his  adventures,  which  Captain 
Erskine  added  to  his  volume  in  the  form  of  an 
appendix. 

Not  being  able  to  carry  provisions  for  so 
large  a  body  of  men  for  any  length  of  time, 
the  Feejeeans  made  a  short  stay  at  a  place  called 
Rambe,  for  the  purpose  of  refreshing  the 
people.  Here  they  procured  immense  quan- 
tities of  yams  and  crabs,  with  which,  after 
eating  and  drinking  to  their  hearts'  content, 
they  loaded  the  canoes  and  continued  the 
voyage.     From  Rambe,  as  well  as  from  other 


86  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

places  along  the  route,  they  were  joined  by 
additional  canoes  and  warriors,  so  that  their 
numbers  rapidly  increased.  Frequently  they 
were  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  canoes  instead  of 
on  shore,  on  which  occasions  they  Avere  jammed 
up  in  such  a  manner  from  want  of  space  as  to 
be  actually  lying  in  layers  on  the  top  of  each 
other ! 

At  one  place  where  they  called  they  could 
not  obtain  a  sufficient  supply  of  provisions  for 
the  whole  party  on  account  of  its  being  small 
and  containing  but  few  inhabitants,  so  they 
made  up  the  deficiency  with  dogs,  cats,  snakes, 
lizards,  and  the  large  white  grubs  with  black 
heads  that  are  found  in  decayed  wood.  The 
dogs  and  cats  they  knocked  on  the  head,  more 
for  the  purpose  of  stunning  than  killing,  and 
threw  them  on  a  fire,  and,  after  letting  them 
lie  five  minutes  or  so  on  one  side,  turned 
them  over  on  the  other,  then  drew  them  from 
the  fire  and  devoured  them.  The  grubs  they 
ate  raw. 

Jackson  was  much  surprised  at  what  he 
terms  "  this  beastly  way  of  feeding,"  because  in 
his  previous  experience  he  had  found  the 
Feejeeans  to  be  extremely  particular  in  all  pre- 
parations of  food.  On  inquiring  the  cause  of 
the  change,  however,  he  was  informed  "that 
they  felt  proud  that  they  were  able  to  endure 
Buch  hard  fare,  and  that  it  was  essential  to 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  87 

their  warlike  customs,  as  they  could  not  expect 
to  sleep  as  well  in  war-time  as  in  peace,  and 
that  they  must  endure  every  inconvenience, 
and  pay  no  attention  whatever  to  comfort ! " 

At  length  they  arrived  at  the  island  of 
Mouta,  where  they  landed  to  announce  their 
arrival  to  the  king,  and  to  present  him  with  a 
gift  of  whales'  teeth,  which  are  much  prized, 
and  used  on  nearly  all  such  occasions.  In 
order  to  reach  the  town  they  had  to  pro- 
ceed up  a  long,  serpentine,  narrow  river,  each 
bank  of  which  was  so  thickly  covered  with 
mangrove  trees  that  they  over-shadowed  it 
completely — rendering  it  exceedingly  dark  and 
dismal.  In  the  middle  of  the  toAvn  stood  the 
king's  house,  and  directly  opposite  was  the 
"  bure,"  or  temple.  The  whole  town  contained 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  houses. 

Having  presented  the  whales'  teeth  to  his 
savage  majesty,  they  related  all  that  had 
happened  on  the  voyage,  detailing  the  minutest 
particulars,  after  which  they  went  to  the 
temple  to  do  honour  to  the  god  of  war ;  and 
here  the  story  of  the  voyage  was  repeated  to 
the  priest,  who  replied  in  a  long  speech.  This 
speech  was  listened  to  with  the  deepest  atten- 
tion, because  it  was  considered  prophetic.  The 
priest  finished  off  by  encouraging  all  present  to 
be  obedient  to  the  god  of  war,  and  to  do  their 
best  to  gratify  his  appetite,  adding,  that  the 


88  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

success  of  the  whole  expedition  depended  on 
their  obedience.  He  reminded  them  that  the 
god  was  a  great  lover  of  animal  food,  especially 
of  human  flesh.  Jackson  afterwards  found 
that  the  appetite  of  the  priest  was  quite  as 
peculiar  and  strong  as  that  of  the  god,  in  this 
respect,  and  that  the  king  was  a  greater  can- 
nibal than  the  priest ! 

Next  morning  they  re-embarked  and  started 
for  Male,  in  the  disturbed  district.  The  in- 
habitants of  Male  lived  on  the  top  of  a  moun- 
tain shaped  like  a  sugar-loaf,  and  having  only 
one  path  leading  up  it.  At  the  top  this  path 
could  be  easily  defended  by  a  small  body  of 
men  against  ten  times  their  number,  as  they 
could  roll  down  large  stones  upon  their  enemies 
while  they  approached.  Knowing  the  strength 
of  their  position,  the  natives  of  this  place  had 
become  the  pest  of  the  neighbourhood.  They 
sallied  forth  and  committed  great  depredations 
on  the  villages  near  them — carrying  away  the 
women  into  slavery,  and  killing  the  men  for 
food! 

On  approaching  the  place  the  war-party 
saw  that  the  natives,  by  their  antics,  were 
challenging  and  defying  them.  When  they 
landed  and  could  hear  what  they  said,  they 
made  out  their  speech  of  defiance  to  be,  "  We 
are  extremely  tired  of  waiting  for  you,  especi- 
ally as  we  have  been   expecting  this  visit  so 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  89 

long ;  but  as  you  have  at  last  made  your  ap- 
pearance, we  are  quite  ready  to  begin  at  once. 
We  would  remind  you,  at  the  same,  that  we 
are  well  supplied  with  stones,  and,  if  these  fail, 
we  have  also  a  good  store  of  British  sand 
(gunpowder),  and  plenty  of  pills  (musket-balls), 
which  we  will  bestow  upon  you  very  gener- 
ously. We  see  that  you  have  got  the  Feejees 
and  Tongas  with  you,  but  we  hope  you  will 
not  have  the  folly  and  impudence  to  attack  us 
until  you  have  collected  the  whole  world  to 
help  you ! " 

To  this  contemptuous  speech  the  war-party 
made  a  somewhat  similar  reply.  After  they 
had  thus  abused  each  other  for  some  time, 
three  of  the  people  of  the  hill  ventured  half- 
way down  the  path,  where  they  stood  and 
dared  any,  or  the  whole,  of  their  enemies  to 
come  up.  As  it  was  not,  however,  the  inten- 
tion of  the  war-party  to  assault  the  stronghold 
at  that  time,  they  declined  the  invitation,  but, 
happening  to  possess  several  old  muskets, 
which  they  had  procured,  no  doubt,  from 
traders,  they  fired  a  volley  at  the  three  chal- 
lengers, killed  them  all  on  the  sjjot,  and,  rush- 
ing up,  caught  the  bodies  as  they  rolled  down 
the  path. 

The  corpses  were  then  fastened  to  a  pole  in 
a  sitting  posture,  and  placed  in  the  canoe  of 
the  chief,  who  resumed  his  voyage,  his  warriors 


90 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


singing  out  "  Satiko,  satiko  "  (good-bye,  good- 
bye), and  telling  the  people  of  Male  that 
they  Avould  call  again  upon  them  shortly,  as 
their  place  was  so  conveniently  situated,  and 
take  a  few  more  bodies,  just  enough  at  a  time 
for  the  priest  of  the  god  of  war — in  short,  that 
they  would  take  them  in  the  same  way  as  a 
man  kills  his  pigs  ;  and  they  were  to  be  sure 
to  feed  themselves  well,  for  their  chief  was 
fond  of  fat  meat ! 

With  this  supply  of  food  they  returned  to 
Mouta.  Here  the  bodies,  which  had  been 
carefully  painted  with  vermillion  and  soot, 
were  handed  out  and  placed,  sitting  up,  in 
front  of  the  king's  house ;  but  before  proceed- 
ing to  their  loathsome  banquet,  they  enacted 
scenes  in  which  there  was  a  dreadful  mingling 
of  the  ludicrous  and  the  horrible. 

The  whole  of  the  people  being  assembled, 
and  dead  silence  secured,  an  old  man  advanced 
to  the  bodies,  and,  laying  his  hand  upon  each, 
began  talking  to  it  in  a  low  tone,  asking  it 
"  why  he  had  been  so  rash  in  coming  down 
the  hill,"  and  telling  it  "that  he  was  ex- 
tremely sorry  to  see  him  in  such  a  predica- 
ment ;  and  did  he  not  feel  ashamed  of  himself 
now  that  he  was  obliged  to  encounter  the  gaze 
of  such  a  crowd."  By  degrees  the  old  orator 
Avorked  himself  into  a  state  of  excitement,  till 
at  last  he  shouted  at  the  full  strensrth  of  his 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  91 

voice,  and  finally  finished  off  by  kicking  the 
bodies  down,  amid  bursts  of  laughter  from  the 
spectators,  who  then  rushed  forward,  and, 
seizing  each  by  a  leg  or  an  arm,  dragged  them 
over  stones  and  dust  and  swamps  for  the 
general  amusement  of  the  people. 

At  last  they  pulled  them  up  to  a  place  at 
the  back  of  the  town  which  was  used  for  the 
purpose  of  cutting  up,  cooking,  and  eating 
human  flesh.  In  front  of  this  dreadful  place 
lay  a  heap  of  human  bones  bleached  by  the 
weather.  Here  the  priest  was  seated,  with  his 
long  beard  hanging  down  on  a  little  table 
before  him.  On  this  table  were  two  skulls 
converted  into  drinking  cups,  and  several 
others  were  lying  about  the  floor. 

Without  going  further  into  the  disgusting 
details,  it  may  be  suflScient  to  add  that  the 
three  bodies  were  cut  up  by  the  priest  and 
cooked  in  an  oven  heated  by  means  of  hot 
stones,  after  which  they  were  devoured  as  a 
great  treat,  and  with  infinite  relish,  by  the 
king  and  his  chief  men. 

It  was  long  before  people  in  the  civilized 
world  would  give  credit  to  stories  such  as  that 
just  related ;  and  even  now  there  may  be 
some  who  doubt  the  truth  of  them.  But  the 
number  and  the  characters  of  the  travellers 
who  have  visited  these  islands  since  the  days 
of  Cook,  and  who  have  brought  home  similar 


92 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


reports,  puts  the  matter  beyond  question. 
Men  ought  neither  to  doubt  these  shocking 
details  because  they  seem  incredible,  nor  turn 
away  from  them  because  they  are  disgusting. 
Like  the  surgeon  who  calmly  and  steadily 
examines  the  most  hideous  of  wounds  or  sores 
that  can  affect  the  human  body,  so  ought  the 
Christian  and  the  philanthropist  to  know  and 
consider  in  detail  the  horrible  deeds  that  are 
done  by  our  fellow-men  in  the  Cannibal  Islands. 
It  is  good  for  us  to  be  made  acquainted  with 
the  truth  in  order  that  we  may  be  filled  with 
strong  pity  for  the  degraded  savages,  and  in 
order,  also,  that  our  hearts  and  hands  may  be 
opened  towards  those  noble  missionaries  who 
venture  themselves  into  the  midst  of  such 
awful  scenes  for  the  sake  of  souls,  and  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  93 


CHAPTER   X. 


VISIT  TO  NEW  ZEALAND, 


CAPTAIN  COOK  left  Tahiti  after  a  stay  of 
three  months.  During  the  greater  part 
of  this  period  the  sailors  and  natives  had  lived 
together  in  the  most  cordial  friendship,  and  in 
the  perpetual  interchange  of  kindly  acts.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  though  the  un- 
christianized  natives  of  the  South-sea  Islands 
are  all  degraded,  cruel,  and  savage,  all  are 
not  equally  so.  Those  inhabiting  the  Feejee 
group  are  generally  reported  to  be  the  worst 
in  all  respects.  Those  who  inhabited  Tahiti, 
on  the  other  hand,  were,  at  the  time  of  Cook's 
vasit,  said  to  be  comparatively  amiable. 

At  all  events,  the  departure  of  the  Etideavour 
called  forth  a  strong  display  of  tender  feeling 
on  the  part  of  the  natives  of  that  island.  In 
writing  of  this  Cook  says — "  On  the  next 
morning,  Thursday,  the  13th  July,  the  ship 
was  very  early  crowded  with  our  friends,  and 
surrounded    by   multitudes    of  canoes,  whicli 

Y 


94  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

were  filled  with  iicatives  of  an  inferior  class. 
Between  eleven  and  twelve  we  weighed  anchor, 
and  as  soon  as  the  ship  was  under  sail  the 
Indians  on  board  took  their  leave,  and  wept 
with  a  decent  and  silent  sorrow,  in  which 
there  was  something  very  striking  and  tender. 
The  people  in  the  canoes,  on  the  contrary, 
seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the  loudness 
of  their  lamentations,  which  we  considered 
rather  as  an  afiectation  than  grief.  Tupia  (a 
chief  who  had  made  up  his  mind  to  sail  with 
us)  sustained  himself  in  this  scene  with  a  firm- 
ness and  resolution  truly  admirable.  He  wept, 
indeed,  but  the  efibrt  that  he  made  to  conceal 
his  tears  concurred  with  them  to  do  him 
honour.  He  sent  his  last  present,  a  shirt,  to 
a  friend  on  shore,  and  then  went  to  the  mast- 
head, where  he  continued  waving  to  the  canoes 
as  long  as  they  were  in  sight." 

Thus  ended  the  visit  of  the  great  navigator 
to  Tahiti,  an  island  which  afterwards  became 
the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  romantic  incidents 
that  was  ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of  mari- 
time adventure,  namely,  the  mutiny  of  the 
men  in  H.  M.  S.  Bounty,  and  the  consequent 
colonization  of  Pitcairn  Island.  Tahiti  is  now 
civilized,  and  under  the  protective  government 
of  the  French.  The  produce  of  the  Island  is 
bread-fruit,  cocoa-nuts,  bananas  of  thirteen 
sorts,  plantains,  a  fruit  not  unlike  an  apple, 


X 

< 

c 
z 

> 
< 


o 
o 


i 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  95 

which,  when  ripe,  is  very  pleasant,  sweet 
potatoes,  yams,  sugar-cane,  which  the  natives 
eat  raw,  besides  many  other  kinds  of  fruits, 
roots,  and  vegetables,  all  of  which  grew  wild 
when  Cook  was  there,  or  with  so  little  culture 
that  the  islanders  are  almost  altogether  ex- 
empted from  labour. 

Setting  sail  from  Tahiti,  the  Endeavour 
visited  several  other  isles,  and  at  length 
arrived  at  the  celebrated  island  of  New 
Zealand.  This  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
South  Seas,  and  is  now  the  site  of  several 
thriving  British  settlements.  Flourishing  cities 
have  been  built  on  its  rich  soil ;  large  portions 
of  it  have  been  brought  under  cultivation ; 
gold  mines  have  been  discovered ;  churches 
and  schools  have  been  erected,  and  many  of 
the  natives  have  become  partially  civilized. 

Very  different  indeed  was  the  state  of  things 
when  Captain  Cook  first  drew  near  to  its 
shores  in  the  year  1769. 

He  cast  anchor  on  the  8th  of  October  in  a 
bay  near  the  mouth  of  a  small  river  about  half 
a  league  from  shore.  The  sides  of  the  bay 
were  white  clifis  of  great  height,  and  inland 
the  hills  rose  one  behind  another,  towering 
upwards  until  they  terminated  in  a  chain  of 
mountains  in  the  far  distance.  Some  natives 
had  been  seen  on  the  beach,  so,  when  the  ship 
was  secured,  Cook  took  two  of  his  boats,  and, 


96  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

accompanied  by  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander 
with  a  party  of  men,  went  on  shore.  They 
landed  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  but  find- 
ing it  too  deep  to  cross,  and  seeing  some 
natives  on  the  other  side,  they  took  one  of  the 
boats — the  yawl — and  went  over,  leaving  the 
other  boat — the  pinnace — behind  them. 

When  the  navigators  drew  near  to  the  place 
where  the  natives  were  assembled,  the  latter 
ran  away.  The  sailors  then  landed,  and, 
leaving  four  boys  in  charge  of  the  boat,  walked 
up  to  some  huts  which  were  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  beach.  But  they  had 
not  gone  far  from  the  water  side  when  four 
men,  armed  with  long  lances,  rushed  out  of  the 
woods,  and  ran  to  attack  the  boat.  They 
would  certainly  have  succeeded  in  overpower- 
ing the  four  boys  and  making  off  with  the 
boat,  had  they  not  fortunately  been  seen  by 
the  people  left  in  the  pinnace,  who  called  out 
to  warn  the  boys  of  their  danger,  telling  them 
to  push  oflF  and  drop  down  stream.  The  boys 
obeyed  instantly.  Being  closely  pursued  by 
the  savages,  one  of  them  fired  a  musket  over 
their  heads. 

At  this  they  stopped  in  surprise  and  looked 
round  them,  but  in  a  few  minutes  renewed  the 
pursuit,  brandishing  their  lances  in  a  threaten- 
ing manner,  as  if  about  to  cast  them  into  the 
boat,  which  they  could  easily  have  done.     The 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  97 

boys  then  fired  a  second  shot  over  their  heads, 
but  of  this  they  took  no  notice,  and  one  of  them 
lifted  his  spear  with  the  intention  of  darting 
it ;  another  musket  was  therefore  fired,  which 
shot  the  savage  dead.  When  he  fell  the  other 
three  stood  motionless  for  some  time  as  if 
petrified  with  astonishment.  As  soon  as  they 
recovered  they  went  back  to  the  woods,  dragg- 
ing the  dead  body,  but  they  soon  dropt  it  and 
fled  when  they  saw  Cook  and  his  companions 
running  to  the  rescue. 

The  dead  body  was  examined,  and  found  to 
be  that  of  a  man  of  middle  size,  with  brown 
complexion  and  a  tatooed  face.  He  was 
covered  with  a  kind  of  native  cloth,  and  wore 
his  hair  tied  up  in  a  knot  on  the  top  of  his 
head.  Cook  immediately  returned  to  the  ship, 
from  the  deck  of  which  he  could  hear  the 
voices  of  the  natives  on  shore  talking  with 
great  earnestness  and  in  a  very  loud  tone. 

Being  anxious  to  enter  into  friendly  inter- 
course with  these  people.  Cook  renewed  the 
attempt  next  morning.  He  ordered  three 
boats  to  be  manned  with  seamen  and  marines, 
and  proceeded  towards  the  shore,  accompanied 
by  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander,  also  by  Tupia, 
the  Tahitan,  to  act  as  interpreter.  About 
fifty  natives  came  to  the  beach  and  sat  down 
to  await  their  landing.  In  order  to  pre- 
vent them  taking  fright,  Cook  landed  first  and 


98  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

advanced  accompanied  only  by  the  two  gentle- 
men above  named  and  Tupia.  But  they  had 
not  proceeded  many  paces  before  the  savages 
started  up,  and  every  man  produced  either  a 
long  pike  or  a  small  weapon  of  green  talc 
extremely  well  polished,  about  a  foot  long,  and 
thick  enough  to  weigh  four  or  five  pounds. 
Tupia  endeavoured  to  appease  them,  but  this 
could  not  be  managed  until  a  musket  was  fired 
wide  of  them.  The  ball  struck  the  water, 
and  on  observing  its  eifect  they  ceased  their 
menaces. 

Meanwhile  the  marines  were  landed  and 
marched  to  a  commanding  position,  where 
they  were  drawn  up,  while  Captain  Cook 
again  advanced.  Wlien  they  came  near  enough, 
Tupia  explained  that  they  wanted  provisions 
and  water,  for  which  they  would  give  iron  in 
exchange.  He  then  asked  them  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  but  they  would  not  consent  to  do 
so.  The  river  still  lay  between  the  two  parties, 
and  Cook  invited  the  natives  to  come  over  and 
trade.  They  were  unwilling  at  first,  but  in  a 
short  time  one,  bolder  than  the  rest,  stripped 
himself  and  swam  over  without  his  arms.  He 
was  immediately  followed  by  two  or  three 
more,  and  soon  after  by  most  of  the  others. 
These  last,  however,  brought  their  arms  with 
them. 

Presents  of  iron  and  beads  were  now  made 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  99 

to  the  savages,  but  they  seemed  to  care  little 
for  these  thmgs,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they 
attempted  to  snatch  the  arms  out  of  the  sailors' 
hands.  In  this  they  failed,  and  Cook  ordered 
Tupia  to  tell  them  that  if  they  tried  to  do  that 
again,  he  would  be  compelled  to  kill  them. 
In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Green,  one  of  the  gentle- 
men, happened  to  turn  about;  immediately 
one  of  them  snatched  away  his  sword  and  ran 
to  a  little  distance,  waving  it  round  his  head 
with  a  shout  of  triumph.  Seeing  this,  the  rest 
became  extremely  insolent,  and  more  savages 
came  to  join  them  from  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  It  therefore  became  necessary  to  check 
them,  and  Mr.  Banks  fired  with  small  shot  at 
the  man  who  had  taken  the  sword.  The  shot 
had  only  the  effect  of  stopping  his  shouts  and 
causing  him  to  retire  a  little  farther  off,  still 
flourishing  the  sword,  however.  Seeing  this, 
Mr.  Monkhouse  fired  with  ball,  and  the  man 
dropt  instantly.  Upon  this  the  main  body  of 
the  natives,  who  had  retired  to  a  rock  in  the 
middle  of  the  river,  began  to  return.  Two 
that  were  near  the  man  who  had  been  killed 
ran  to  the  body,  and  one  seized  his  weapon  of 
green  talc,  while  the  other  tried  to  secure  the 
sword,  but  ]\Ir.  Monkhouse  ran  up  in  time  to 
prevent  this.  Three  muskets  loaded  with 
small  shot  were  then  fired  at  the  party,  whicli 
wounded  several  and  caused  them  to  retire  to 


100  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

the  opposite   side   of  the   river,  after  which 
Cook  returned  to  the  ship. 

This  was  a  matter  of  great  disappointment 
to  the  voyagers,  because  they  were  much  in 
want  of  fresh  water.  Cook  now  resolved  to 
seize  some  of  the  natives  if  possible  and  prove 
to  them,  by  kind  treatment,  that  they  had 
nothing  to  fear.  Soon  after  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  trying  this  plan.  Two  canoes  were 
seen  coming  in  from  sea ;  one  under  sail ;  the 
other  worked  by  paddles.  Taking  three  boats 
full  of  men  he  gave  chase  to  them;  but  the 
people  in  the  nearest  canoe  perceived  them,  and 
turning  aside  made  with  all  possible  haste  for  a 
point  of  land  and  escaped.  The  other  canoe 
was  intercepted,  and  Tupia  called  to  them  to 
come  alongside  and  they  would  receive  no 
harm;  but  they  took  down  the  sail,  took  to 
their  paddles  and  made  off  so  quickly  that  the 
boats  could  not  overtake  them.  Cook  then 
ordered  a  musket  ball  to  be  fired  over  them. 
On  hearing  the  shots  they  stopped  paddling 
and  began  to  strip,  intending,  no  doubt,  to  leap 
into  the  sea.  But  they  quickly  changed  their 
minds  and  resolved  not  to  fly  but  to  fight. 
When  the  boats  came  up  they  began  the  attack 
with  their  paddles  and  with  stones  so  vigor- 
ously, that  the  voyagers  were  obliged  to  fire  at 
them  in  self-defence.  Unhappily  four  were  killed 
and  the  three  who  remained  leaped  into  the  sea. 


THE  CAi^NIBAL  ISLANDS.  101 

These  were  soon  captured,  and  were  found 
to  be  mere  boys — the  eldest  about  nineteen, 
and  the  youngest  about  eleven.  Cook  deeply 
regretted  this  unfortunate  aflFarr,  and  blamed 
himself  for  it,  but  remarked,  in  justification  of 
himself,  that  "when  the  command  has  once 
been  given  to  fire,  no  man  can  restrain  its 
excess  or  prescribe  its  effect." 

As  soon  as  the  poor  wretches  were  taken 
out  of  the  water  into  the  boat,  they  squatted 
down,  expecting,  no  doubt,  to  be  instantly  put 
to  death.  But  when  they  found  that  instead 
of  being  killed,  they  were  treated  with  kind- 
ness, they  became  exceedingly  joyful.  On 
reaching  the  ship  they  were  offered  some  bread, 
which  they  devoured  with  a  voracious  appetite. 
They  asked  and  answered  a  great  many  ques- 
tions, and  when  the  people  sat  down  to  dinner 
expressed  a  desire  to  touch  and  taste  every- 
thing they  saw.  The  food  that  pleased  them 
most  was  salt  pork.  At  night  they  made  a 
hearty  supper,  and  after  they  had  each  drunk 
above  a  quart  of  water,  they  lay  down  to  sleep 
on  a  locker  Avell  pleased  with  their  treatment. 

During  the  night,  however,  their  true  con- 
dition as  prisoners  seemed  to  be  impressed  on 
them.  Possibly  they  thought  of  their  slain 
friends,  for  they  began  to  moan  dismally,  and 
it  was  all  Tupia  could  do  to  comfort  them. 
Next   morning    they   devoured   an   enormous 


102 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


breakfast,  after  which  they  were  dressed,  and 
adorned  with  bracelets,  anklets,  necklaces,  etc., 
and  sent  on  shore  in  the  hope  that  they  might 
carry  a  good  report  of  the  strangers  to  their 
friends.  Nothing  came  of  this,  however,  at 
the  time.  The  natives  still  remained  unfriendly, 
and  Cook  finally  weighed  anchor  and  set  saU 
in  search  of  a  part  of  the  coast  where  the 
people,  it  was  hoped,  would  be  more  hospitable. 

Soon  after  this  a  number  of  canoes  came  off  to 
the  ship,  and  the  natives,  to  the  number  of  fifty, 
came  on  board  without  fear,  saying  that  they 
had  heard  such  an  account  of  the  kindness  of 
the  sailors  from  the  three  boys,  that  they  had 
come  to  trade  with  them.  And  they  did  trade 
with  them,  to  such  an  extent  that  they  parted 
with  everything  they  had,  even  stripping  off 
their  clothes,  and  offering  them  in  exchange 
for  trinkets  of  little  value  ! 

About  an  hour  before  sunset,  the  canoes  put 
off  from  the  ship  to  return  to  shore,  and  then 
it  was  discovered  that  three  natives  had  been 
left  behind.  Tupia  hailed  the  canoes  and  told 
them  of  this,  but  they  would  not  return,  and 
what  seemed  more  surprising,  the  three  savages 
did  not  seem  to  care,  but  remained  on  board 
eating  and  drinking,  and  entertaining  the 
ship's  company  with  dancing  and  singing  of  a 
very  remarkable  kind,  after  which  they  had 
their  suppers  and  went  quietly  to  bed.     But 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  103 

they  were  dreadfully  horrified  on  awaking  next 
morning  to  find  that  the  ship  was  sailing 
swiftly  away  with  them;  and  they  remained 
in  a  state  of  consternation  untU  a  canoe 
happened  to  put  off  from  shore,  and  after  much 
persuasion  came  alongside  and  took  them 
away.  The  men  in  the  canoe  were  very  timid 
about  coming  on  deck,  and  they  could  not  be 
got  to  do  so  until  the  three  savages  assured 
them  that  the  white  people  "  did  not  eat  men ! " 

Cook  then  continued  his  voyage  of  discovery 
round  New  Zealand,  making  careful  notes  of 
the  coast,  and  naming  the  various  headlands 
as  he  went.  As  the  island  is  fully  as  large  as 
Great  Britain,  it  took  him  some  time  to  accom- 
plish the  survey.  He  had  many  adventures, 
and  saw  many  strange  things  by  the  way, 
besides  running  considerable  danger  from  the 
natives,  who  showed  themselves  extremely 
hostile. 

On  one  occasion,  while  they  were  entangled 
among  some  shoals,  the  hurry  on  board  in 
working  the  ship  led  the  savages  to  suppose 
the  voyagers  were  alarmed,  so  taking  advantage 
of  this,  four  large  canoes  full  of  armed  men 
put  oflF  and  came  towards  them  with  the  inten- 
tion, apparently,  of  making  an  attack.  A 
musket  was  fired  over  them,  but  as  it  did  no 
hann  they  continued  to  come  on.  A  four- 
pounder,  loaded  wfitih  grape,  was  then  fired  a 


104 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


little  to  one  side  of  them.  This  caused  them 
all  to  start  up  with  a  shout  of  surprise,  after 
which  they  returned  quietly  to  the  shore. 

On  all  occasions  Captain  Cook  exerted  him- 
self to  the  utmost  to  prevent  bloodshed ;  but 
the  natives  were  everywhere  so  warlike  and 
treacherous,  that  this  could  not  always  be 
avoided. 

One  day  several  canoes  full  of  armed  men 
came  alongside,  and  were  induced  to  trade — 
exchanging  native  cloth  and  arms  for  the  usual 
trinkets.  Tupia,  the  interpreter,  had  a  little 
son  with  him  named  Tayeto.  This  little  fellow 
was  employed  to  stand  outside  the  bulwarks 
of  the  ship  to  hand  down  the  things  from  the 
ship  to  the  savages  in  the  canoes.  One  of 
these  rascals,  watching  his  opportunity,  suddenly 
seized  the  lad  and  dragged  him  dov/n  into  the 
canoe.  Two  of  them  held  him  down  in  the 
fore  part  of  it,  and  the  others  with  great 
activity,  paddled  off — the  rest  of  the  canoes 
following  as  fast  as  they  could. 

Upon  this  the  marines  were  ordered  to  fire. 
The  shot  was  directed  to  that  part  of  the 
canoe  which  was  farthest  from  the  boy.  One 
man  dropped,  upon  which  the  others  quitted 
their  hold  of  the  boy,  who  sprang  nimbly  into 
the  water  and  swam  towards  the  ship.  A 
large  canoe  turned  to  re- capture  him,  but  some 
muskets  and  a  great  gun  being  fired  at  it,  the 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  105 

rowers  desisted  from  farther  pursuit.  The 
ship  was  immediately  brought  to,  a  boat  was 
lowered,  and  poor  Tayeto  was  picked  up,  very 
much  terrified,  but  unhurt,  and  none  the  worse 
for  his  adventure. 

After  this  the  discoverers  had  the  most 
convincing  proof  that  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Zealand  were  cannibals.  One  day  Mr.  Banks, 
Dr.  Solander,  Tupia,  and  others,  went  ashore 
and  visited  a  party  of  natives  who  appeared  to 
have  just  concluded  a  repast.  The  body  of  a 
dog  was  found  buried  in  their  oven,  and  many 
provision  baskets  stood  around.  In  one  of 
these  they  observed  two  bones,  pretty  cleanly 
picked,  which  did  not  seem  to  be  the  bones  of 
a  dog.  On  nearer  inspection  they  were  found 
to  be  those  of  a  human  being.  That  the  flesh 
belonging  to  them  had  been  eaten  was  evident, 
for  that  which  remained  had  manifestly  been 
dressed  by  fire,  and  in  the  gristles  at  the  ends 
were  the  marks  of  the  teeth  which  had  gnawed 
them.  To  put  an  end  to  doubt,  Tupia  asked 
what  bones  they  were,  and  the  natives  answered 
without  the  least  hesitation  that  they  were  the 
bones  of  a  man,  and  they  had  eaten  the  flesh 
of  them.  Upon  one  of  the  visitors  pretending 
not  to  beUeve  this,  and  saying  that  they  were 
the  bones  of  a  dog,  a  native  seized  his  own 
forearm  with  his  teeth  and  made  a  show  of 
eating  it  with  great  relish.     He  also  took  one 


106  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

of  the  bones  which  Mr.  Banks  held  in  his  hand 
and  bit  and  gnawed  it,  drawing  it  through  his 
lips,  and  showing  by  signs  that  it  afforded  a 
delicious  repast ! 

As  if  to  relieve,  somewhat,  the  feelings  of 
disgust  with  which  they  were  oppressed  by 
such  sights,  the  voyagers  were  regaled  with 
the  most  delicious  music  on  the  following 
morning.  About  two  o'clock  they  were 
awakened  by  the  sweet  singing  of  birds,  the 
number  of  which  was  incredible,  and  their 
energy  so  great  that  they  appeared  to  strain 
their  throats  in  emulation  of  each  other.  This 
wild  melody  was  infinitely  superior  to  anything 
they  had  ever  heard  of  the  same  kind ;  it 
seemed  to  be  like  small  bells  most  exquisitely 
tuned ; — perhaps  the  distance  of  the  ship  from 
shore,  and  the  water  between,  may  have  lent 
additional  charms  to  the  sound. 

Ere  long  the  birds  ceased  to  sing,  and  the 
disagreeable  subject  of  the  previous  day  was 
recalled  by  the  appearance  of  a  small  canoe, 
in  which  was  an  old  man,  who,  on  coming  on 
deck,  at  once  revived  the  conversation  about 
eating  human  flesli. 

"  But,"  said  Tupia,  after  some  minutes'  talk, 
"I  did  not  see  any  heads  of  your  enemies; 
what  do  you  do  with  them?  do  you  not  eat 
them  tool" 

"  No,"  replied  the  old  man,  *'  we  only  eat 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


107 


the  brains,  and  the  next  time  I  come  I  will 
bring  off  some  of  them  to  convince  you  that 
what  I  have  told  you  is  true." 

That  same  day  some  of  the  sailors  found  ok 
shore,  near  an  oven,  three  human  hip-bones, 
which  they  brought  on  board,  and  Mr.  Monk- 
house,  the  surgeon,  discovered  and  took  on 
board  the  hair  of  a  man's  head. 

Here  also  they  saw  practised  a  remarkably 
simple  and  ingenious  method  of  catching  fish, 
which  we  think  might  be  tried  with  advantage 
on  our  own  coasts.  Happening  to  observe  a 
man  in  liis  canoe  fishing,  they  rowed  along- 
side and  asked  hira  to  draw  up  his  line, 
which  he  readily  did.  At  the  end  of  it  they 
found  a  net  of  a  circular  form,  extended  by 
two  hoops  about  seven  or  eight  feet  in  diameter. 
The  top  was  open,  and  sea-ears  were  fastened 
to  the  bottom  as  bait.  This  he  let  down  so 
as  to  lie  upon  the  ground  until  he  thought  fish 
enough  had  assembled  over  it.  Then  he  drew 
it  up  by  an  extremely  gentle  and  even  motion, 
so  that  the  fish  rose  with  it,  scarcely  sensible 
(it  is  supposed)  that  they  were  being  lifted, 
until  near  the  surface  of  the  water,  when  they 
were  brought  out  in  the  net  by  a  sudden  pull ! 

The  ingenuity  of  the  New  Zealanders 
appeared  in  nothing  more  than  in  their  canoes, 
of  which  the  following  description  is  in  Cook's 
own  words  : — 


108 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


"  They  are  long  and  narrow,  and  in  shape 
very  much  resemble  a  New  England  whale-boat; 
the  larger  sort  seem  to  be  built  chiefly  for  war, 
and  will  carry  from  forty  to  eighty  or  a  hundred 
armed  men.  We  measured  one  which  lay 
ashore  at  Tolago.  She  was  sixty-eight  feet 
and  a  half  long,  five  feet  broad,  and  three  feet 
and  a  half  deep.  The  bottom  was  sharp,  with 
straight  sides  like  a  wedge,  and  consisted  of 
three  lengths  hollowed  out  to  about  two  inches, 
or  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  and  well  fastened 
together  with  strong  plaiting.  Each  side  con- 
sisted of  one  entire  plank,  sixty-three  feet  long, 
ten  or  twelve  inches  broad,  and  about  an  inch 
and  a  quarter  thick,  and  these  were  fitted  and 
lashed  to  the  bottom  part  with  great  dexterity 
and  strength.  A  considerable  number  of 
thwarts  were  laid  from  gunwale  to  gunwale,  to 
which  they  were  securely  lashed  on  each  side, 
as  a  strengthening  to  the  boat.  The  ornament 
at  the  head  projected  five  or  six  feet  beyond 
the  body,  and  was  about  four  feet  and  a  half 
high.  The  ornament  at  the  stem  was  fixed 
upon  that  end  as  the  sternpost  of  a  ship  is 
fixed  upon  its  keel,  and  was  about  fourteen 
feet  high,  two  feet  broad,  and  an  inch  and  a 
half  thick.  They  both  consisted  of  boards  of 
carved  work,  of  which  the  design  was  much 
better  than  the  execution." 

The  smaller  canoes,  which  were  of  one  piece, 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  109 

hollowed  out  by  fire,  usually  had  "  outriggers," 
— boards  projecting  from,  and  parallel  to,  the 
canoes — to  prevent  their  overturning,  and 
occasionally  two  canoes  were  joined  together 
for  the  same  purpose,  as,  if  unsupported,  they 
were  extremely  liable  to  upset. 

The  tools  with  which  these  canoes  and  their 
other  implements  and  utensils  were  made  con- 
sisted of  axes  and  adzes  made  of  a  hard  black 
stone,  or  of  a  green  talc,  which  latter  stone  is 
not  only  hard  but  tough.  They  had  chisels 
made  of  small  fragments  of  jasper,  and  of 
human  bones.  These  also  served  the  purpose 
of  augers  for  boring  holes.  Fish-hooks  were 
of  bone  or  shell ;  these,  however,  were  not  weU 
made,  but  in  the  fabrication  of  most  of  their 
implements,  canoes,  war-clubs,  baskets,  etc., 
they  displayed  a  considerable  degree  of  taste, 
neatness  of  hand,  and  ingenuity. 

Our  space  forbids  us  following  Captain  Cook 
very  closely  in  his  many  voyages  throughout 
the  great  archipelago  of  the  South  Seas.  In 
this  volume  we  have  touched  but  lightly  here 
and  there  on  the  immense  variety  of  subjects 
which  came  under  his  observation.  Those 
who  wish  for  fuller  information  will  find  it  in 
the  work  entitled  "The  Voyages  of  Captain 
Cook  round  the  World,"  which  contains  his 
own  most  interesting  journals. 

Passing   over    the    years    which    intervene 

z 


no 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


between  tlie  period  of  which  we  have  been 
writing  and  the  last  voyage  he  ever  made  to 
the  islands  of  the  South  Seas,  we  leap  at  once, 
in  the  next  chapter,  to  the  sad  closing  scenes 
of  the  great  navigator's  career. 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


Ill 


CHAPTER  XI. 


THE  LAST  VOYAGE  AND  SAD  END  OF  THE  GREAT  DISCOVERER. 


TN  the  spring  of  1776,  Captain  Cook  set  sail 
■*-  on  his  last  voyage,  in  command  of  the 
Resolution,  accompanied  by  the  Discovery  under 
Captain  Clerke,  an  able  officer,  who  had  been 
Cook's  second  Lieutenant  on  board  the  Eesolit- 
tion  in  his  second  voyage  round  the  world. 

The  expedition  was  well  supplied  with  every- 
thing that  might  conduce  to  its  success,  or  to 
the  comfort  of  those  engaged  in  it,  and  many 
useful  articles  were  put  on  board  to  be  given  to 
the  South-sea  Islanders,  with  a  view  to  improve 
their  condition — among  other  things,  some  live 
stock,  which,  it  was  hoped,  would  multiply  on 
the  islands — such  as  a  bull,  and  two  cows  with 
theu"  calves,  and  some  sheep ;  besides  a  quantity 
of  such  European  garden  seeds  as  were  likely 
to  thrive  in  those  regions. 

It  says  much  for  the  perseverance  and  energy 
of  Captain  Cook  that,  although  his  education 
had  been  so  defective  that  he  only  began  to 
study  Euclid    and   Astronomy  at  the  age  of 


112  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

thirty-one,  he  was  nevertheless  competent  to 
conduct,  without  the  aid  of  a  scientific  man, 
the  astronomical  department  of  this  voyage. 

The  vessels  touched  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  in  passing,  and  sailed  thence  on  their 
voyage  of  discovery,  which  extended  over  three 
years,  during  which  period  they  visited  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  on  the  south  of  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  the  Society  Islands,  Sandwich  Islands, 
and  other  groups  of  the  Pacific ;  also  the 
western  and  northern  coasts  of  North  America, 
and  saw  new  and  beautiful  regions,  as  well 
as  strange  and  wonderful — in  some  cases 
terrible — sights,  the  mere  enumeration  of 
which,  without  going  into  detail,  would  fill 
many  pages.  We  hasten,  therefore,  to  that 
point  in  the  narrative  which  describes  the  visit 
of  the  expedition  to  the  island  of  Owhyhee, 
where  its  heroic  commander  terminated  his 
brilliant  career. 

On  January  1779  the  Resolution  and  the 
Discovery  put  into  a  large  bay  named  Karaka- 
kooa  on  the  west  of  the  island,  for  the  purpose 
of  refitting  the  ships  and  laying  in  an  additional 
supply  of  water  and  provisions.  They  moored 
on  the  north  side  of  the  bay,  about  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  shore.  Here  they  were  well 
received  by  the  inhabitants,  who  at  first  were 
extremely  hospitable.  Captain  King,  in  his 
journal  of  the  transactions  at  this  place,  writes: — 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


113 


"As  soon  as  the  inhabitants  perceived  our 
intention  of  anchoring  in  the  bay,  they  came  off 
in  astonishing  numbers,  and  expressed  their  joy 
by  singing  and  shouting,  and  exhibiting  a  variety 
of  ■wild  and  extravagant  gestures.  The  sides, 
the  decks,  and  rigging  of  both  ships  were  soon 
completely  covered  with  them,  and  a  multitude 
of  women  and  boys,  who  had  not  been  able  to 
get  canoes,  came  swimming  round  us  in  shoals; 
many  of  them  not  finding  room  on  board,  re- 
mained the  whole  day  playing  in  the  water ! " 

Afterwards  Captain  Cook  Avent  ashore  and 
was  received  with  many  extraordinary  cere- 
monies, which  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to 
religious  worship,  but  in  regard  to  this  he  and 
his  companions  could  only  form  conjectures,  and 
were  very  glad  to  find  that  their  entertainers 
were  so  friendly.  Next  morning  Captain  King 
went  ashore  with  a  guard  of  eight  marines  to 
erect  an  observatory  in  such  a  situation  as  might 
best  enable  him  to  superintend  and  protect  the 
waterers  and  other  working  parties  that  were 
to  be  on  shore.  The  spot  chosen  was  imme- 
diately marked  off  with  wands  by  the  friendly 
native  priests,  who  thus  consecrated  the  ground, 
or  placed  it  under  "  taboo" — a  sort  of  religious 
interdiction,  which  effectually  protected  it  from 
the  intrusion  of  the  natives — for  none  ever 
ventured,  during  their  stay,  to  enter  within  the 
tabooed  space  without  permission. 


1 


114  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

Very  different  was  it  on  board  the  ships. 
These,  not  being  tabooed,  were  overwhelmed 
with  visitors,  particularly  women,  who  flocked 
on  board  in  such  numbers  that  the  men  were 
obliged  to  clear  the  decks  almost  every  hour  in 
order  to  have  room  to  attend  to  their  duties — 
on  which  occasions  two  or  three  hundred  women 
were  frequently  made  to  jump  into  the  water 
at  once,  where  they  continued  swimming  and 
playing  about  until  they  could  again  obtain 
admittance ! 

While,  however,  the  priests  of  the  island 
were  very  attentive  to  their  visitors — sending 
them  gifts  of  pigs  and  vegetables  with  extreme 
liberality,  and  expecting  nothing  in  return, 
the  warrior  chiefs  were  not  so  disinterested. 
They  expected  and  received  many  gifts,  and 
they  were  so  much  addicted  to  theft  that  a 
constant  watch  had  to  be  kept  upon  them, 
while  examples  had  occasionally  to  be  made  of 
those  who  were  caught  in  the  act.  Soon  after 
their  arrival,  the  ships  were  visited  in  state  by 
the  Kinsr  of  the  island,  whose  name  was 
Terreeoboo.  Some  of  his  chiefs  accompanied 
him,  and  all  of  them  were  dressed  in  rich 
feathered  cloaks  and  helmets,  and  armed  with 
long  spears  and  daggers.  Along  with  them 
they  brought  their  idols,  which  were  gigantic 
busts  made  of  wicker-work,  curiously  covered 
with  small  feathers.     Their  eyes  were  made  of 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  115 

large  pearl  oysters,  with  a  black  nut  fixed  in  the 
centre  of  each ;  double  rows  of  dogs'  teeth  orna- 
mented their  mouths,  and  their  features  were 
strangely  distorted.  The  King  and  his  friends 
were  hospitably  received.  Presents  were  made, 
and  expressions  of  good-will  and  friendship 
interchanged. 

Thus  everything  went  on  prosperously.  The 
refitting  and  provisioning  were  completed ; 
games  and  ceremonies  were  witnessed;  and 
finally  the  ships  left  the  island  with  the  good 
wishes  of  a  people  who  had  treated  their  visi- 
tors with  singular  kindness  and  hospitality 
during  the  whole  period  of  their  sojourn. 

Unfortunately,  soon  afterwards,  the  Resolu- 
tion was  so  much  damaged  in  a  gale,  that  it 
was  found  necessary  to  return  to  Karakakooa 
Bay  for  repairs.  To  the  surprise  of  the  voy- 
agers their  reception  on  this  occasion  was  very 
difi"erent  from  what  it  had  been  at  first.  There 
was  no  shouting,  no  bustle,  no  coming  off  in 
shoals — only  here  and  there  a  canoe  was  seen 
stealing  along  the  solitary  shore.  On  inquiry, 
they  were  told  that  King  Terreeoboo  was  ab- 
sent, and  had  laid  the  bay  under  taboo !  This 
looked  very  suspicious.  However,  as  there 
was  no  help  for  it,  they  landed  their  men  with 
the  foremast  of  one  of  the  ships,  which  required 
repair,  and  for  two  or  three  days  pushed  for- 
ward their  work  busily,  expecting  that  when 


116  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

the  king  returned  and  removed  the  interdict^ 
the  natives  would  flock  round  them  with  the 
same  good  feeling  as  before. 

Things  went  on  in  their  usual  quiet  way  till 
the  afternoon  of  the  13th  of  February.  On 
the  evening  of  that  day  the  watering  party 
was  interfered  with  by  natives  who  had  armed 
themselves  with  stones,  and  were  becoming 
very  insolent.  On  the  appearance,  however, 
of  Captain  King  with  one  of  the  marines,  they 
threw  away  the  stones,  and  some  of  the  chiefs 
drove  the  mob  away.  Captain  Cook,  on  hear- 
ing of  this,  ordered  the  sentinels  to  load  with 
ball,  and  to  fire  if  the  interference  should  be 
repeated.  Soon  after  that  the  party  on  shore 
were  alarmed  by  a  fire  of  musketry  from  the 
Discovery.  It  was  directed  at  a  small  canoe 
which  was  paddling  to  the  shore  in  great  haste, 
pursued  by  one  of  the  ship's  boats.  The 
canoe  reached  the  shore  first,  and  the  natives, 
who  had  been  stealing,  made  their  escape. 
Captain  Cook  and  Captain  King  pursued  them 
into  the  woods  for  about  three  miles,  but  failed 
to  overtake  them. 

During  Cook's  absence  a  serious  difference 
occurred  on  the  shore.  One  of  the  officers  con- 
ceived it  to  be  his  duty  to  seize  one  of  the  native 
canoes.  This  chanced  to  belong  to  a  great  man 
named  Pareea,  who  soon  afterwards  claimed 
his  property.     The  officer  refused  to  give  it 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


117 


up,  and  a  scuffle  ensued,  in  which  Pareea  was 
knocked  on  the  head  with  an  oar.  The 
natives  immediately  attacked  the  sailors  with 
a  shower  of  stones,  which  compelled  them  to 
retreat  precipitately  into  the  sea  and  swim  off 
to  a  rock  at  some  distance  from  the  shore, 
leaving  the  pinnace  in  the  hands  of  the  natives, 
who  at  once  ransacked  it.  They  would  pro- 
bably have  demolished  it  entirely  had  not 
Pareea,  who  soon  recovered  from  his  blow, 
come  forward,  and,  with  an  admirable  spirit  of 
forgiveness,  rescued  it  from  their  hands,  re- 
turned it  to  the  sailors,  and  afterwards  rubbed 
noses  with  the  officer  who  caused  all  the  mis- 
chief, in  token  of  his  reconciliation  ! 

During  that  night  the  cutter  of  the  Discovery 
was  stolen,  and  next  morning  Captain  Cook, 
landing  with  nine  marines,  went  up  to  the 
village.  It  had  been  his  usual  practice,  when- 
ever anything  of  importance  was  lost  at  any  of 
the  islands  in  that  ocean,  to  get  the  king  or 
some  of  the  chief  men  on  board,  and  keep 
them  as  hostages  until  the  missing  article 
should  be  restored.  This  method,  which  had 
been  always  attended  with  success,  he  meant  to 
pursue  on  the  present  occasion.  Meanwhile, 
the  boats  of  both  ships  were  ordered  out,  and 
well  manned  and  armed. 

Captain  Cook  then  marched  into  the  village, 
where  he  was  received  with  the  usual  marks  of 


118  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

respect — the  people  prostrating  themselves  be- 
fore him,  and  bringing  liim  their  accustomed 
offerings  of  small  hogs. 

We  cannot  help  remarking  here  that  Cook 
was  to  be  blamed  for  permitting  the  natives  to 
treat  him  with  a  degree  of  ceremonious  solem- 
nity which  was  obviously  meant  as  an  act  of 
worship.  The  only  thing  that  can  be  said  in 
his  defence,  we  think,  is,  that  in  a  region 
where  many  remarkable,  and  to  him  incom- 
prehensible, customs  prevailed,  he  could  not 
certainly  assure  himself  that  the  people  were 
not  paying  to  him  the  ordinary  homage  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  pay  to  every  great 
chief  who  visited  their  island. 

He  found  the  old  king  just  awaking  from 
sleep,  and,  after  a  short  conversation  about  the 
loss  of  the  cutter,  the  captain  invited  him  to 
return  in  the  boat  and  spend  the  day  on  board 
the  Resolution.  The  king  readily  consented, 
but  whUe  on  his  way  to  the  beach  one  of  his 
wives,  who  evidently  suspected  treachery,  be- 
sought him  with  many  tears  not  to  go  on 
board.  At  the  same  time,  two  of  his  chiefs 
laid  hold  of  him,  and,  insisting  that  he  should 
go  no  farther,  forced  him  to  sit  down.  The 
natives  had  by  this  time  collected  in  pro- 
digious numbers,  and  the  Englishmen  were  so 
surrounded  that  it  would  have  been  impossible 
for  them  to  use  their  arms  if  any  occasion  had 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  1 1 9 

required  it.  Captain  Cook,  therefore,  was 
obliged  to  give  up  his  efforts  to  induce  the  old 
king  to  go  on  board. 

As  yet  the  captain  had  not  expected  or 
feared  any  attempt  at  personal  violence,  and  it 
is  probable  that  he  would  have  succeeded  in 
commg  off  scathless  on  this  occasion,  as  he 
had  done  many  a  time  before,  had  not  an 
unfortunate  incident  occurred,  which  gave  a 
fatal  turn  to  the  affair.  The  boats  of  the  ship, 
which  had  been  stationed  across  the  bay,  fired 
at  some  canoes  that  were  attempting  to  escape, 
and,  unfortunately,  killed  a  chief  of  the  first 
rank.  The  news  of  his  death  reached  the 
village  just  as  Captain  Cook  was  leaving  the 
king,  and  the  excitement  occasioned  was  very 
great.  One  evidence  that  the  natives  meant 
to  be  revenged  was,  that  all  the  women  and 
children  were  immediately  sent  off,  and  they 
made  their  intentions  still  more  apparent  by 
putting  on  their  war-mats,  and  arming  them- 
selves with  spears  and  stones.  Just  before 
this,  hoAvever,  the  nine  marines  had  been 
ordered  to  extricate  themselves  from  the  crowd 
and  line  the  rocks  along  the  shore. 

One  of  the  natives  having  a  stone  in  one 
hand,  and  a  long  iron  spike  in  the  other,  came 
up  to  the  captain  in  a  defiant  manner,  flourish- 
ing liis  weapon,  and  threatening  to  throw  the 
stone.     Cook  told  him  to  desist,  but  he  per- 


120  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

sisted  in  his  threatening  actions,  and  at  length 
provoked  the  captain  to  fire  a  charge  of  small 
shot  into  him.  Having  on  his  war-mat,  how- 
ever, it  had  no  other  effect  than  to  stir  up  his 
wrath.  Several  stones  were  now  thrown  at 
the  marines,  and  a  native  attempted  to  stab 
one  of  the  party  with  his  spear ;  in  this,  how- 
ever, he  failed,  and  was  knocked  down  with 
the  butt-end  of  a  musket. 

Captain  Cook  now  felt  that  the  safety  of  the 
party  depended  on  prompt,  decisive  action,  for 
the  more  he  exercised  forbearance,  the  more 
did  the  savages  threaten.  He  therefore  fired 
his  second  barrel,  which  was  loaded  with  ball, 
and  killed  one  of  the  foremost. 

A  general  attack  with  stones  immediately 
followed.  This  was  met  by  a  discharge  of 
muskets  from  the  marines  and  the  people  in 
the  boats.  Contrary  to  expectation,  the  savages 
stood  the  fire  with  great  firmness.  From  the 
accounts  given  of  the  transaction,  it  would 
appear  that  all  the  marines  had  discharged 
their  muskets — none  having  reserved  fire. 
This  was  a  fatal  mistake,  because,  before  they 
had  time  to  reload,  the  natives  rushed  upon 
them  in  overwhelming  numbers,  and  with  fear- 
ful yeUs.  Then  followed  a  scene  of  indescrib- 
able horror  and  confusion. 

Captain  King,  Cook's  intimate  friend,  says, 
in  regard  to  this  closing  scene,  that  four  of  the 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  121 

marines  were  cut  off  amongst  the  rocks  in 
their  retreat,  and  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  fury 
of  the  enemy;  three  more  were  dangerously 
wounded.  The  lieutenant,  who  had  received 
a  stab  between  the  shoulders  with  a  pahooa, 
having  fortunately  reserved  his  fire,  shot  the 
man  who  had  wounded  him  just  as  he  was 
going  to  repeat  the  blow.  The  unfortunate 
Captain  Cook,  when  last  seen  distinctly,  was 
standing  at  the  water's  edge,  calling  out  to  the 
men  in  the  boats  to  cease  firing  and  to  pull  in. 
If  it  be  true,  as  some  of  those  who  were  pre- 
sent have  imagined,  that  the  marines  and 
boatmen  had  fired  without  his  orders,  and  that 
he  was  desirous  of  preventing  further  blood- 
shed, it  is  not  improbable  that  his  humanity, 
on  this  occasion,  proved  fatal  to  him ;  for  it 
was  remarked  that  while  he  faced  the  natives, 
none  of  them  had  offered  him  any  violence, 
but  that,  having  turned  about  to  give  his  order 
to  the  boats,  he  was  stabbed  in  the  back,  and 
fell  with  his  face  into  the  water. 

On  seeing  him  fall,  the  savages  gave  a  great 
shout,  rushed  upon  him,  and  dragged  him  on 
shore.  They  then  surrounded  him,  and,  snatch- 
ing the  daggers  out  of  each  other's  hands, 
showed  a  savage  eagerness  to  have  a  share  in 
his  destruction. 

"  Thus,"  continues  King,  "  fell  our  great 
and  excellent  commander !     After  a  life  of  so 


122  THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 

mach  distinguished  and  successful  enterprise, 
his  death,  as  far  as  regards  himself,  cannot  be 
reckoned  premature,  since  he  lived  to  finish 
the  •  great  work  for  which  he  seems  to  have 
been  designed,  and  was  rather  removed  from 
the  enjoyment,  than  cut  off  from  the  acquisi- 
tion of  glory.  How  sincerely  his  loss  was  felt 
and  lamented  by  those  who  had  so  long  found 
their  general  security  in  his  skill  and  conduct, 
and  every  consolation  under  their  hardships 
in  his  tenderness  and  humanity,  it  is  neither 
necessary  nor  possible  for  me  to  describe; 
much  less  shall  I  attempt  to  paint  the  horror 
with  which  we  were  struck,  and  the  universal 
dejection  and  dismay  which  followed  so  dread 
ful  and  unexpected  a  calamity." 

In  commenting  on  Captain  Cook's  services, 
the  same  gentleman  says  : — 

"  Perhaps  no  science  ever  received  greater 
additions  from  the  labours  of  a  single  man  than 
geography  has  done  from  those  of  Captain 
Cook.  In  his  first  voyage  to  the  South  Seas 
he  discovered  the  Society  Islands ;  determined 
the  insularity  of  New  Zealand,  discovered  the 
Straits  which  separate  the  two  islands,  and  are 
called  after  his  name,  and  made  a  complete 
survey  of  both.  He  afterwards  explored  the 
eastern  coast  of  New  Holland,  hitherto  un- 
known, to  an  extent  of  twenty-seven  degrees  of 
latitude,  or  upwards  of  two  thousand  miles." 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS.  123 

In  succeeding  years  he  settled  the  disputed 
point  of  the  existence  of  a  great  southern  con- 
tinent traversing  the  ocean  there  between  the 
latitudes  of  40°  and  70°  in  such  a  way  as  to 
show  the  impossibility  of  its  existence  '*  unless 
near  the  pole,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  naviga- 
tion." (We  may  be  permitted,  in  these  days  of 
general  advancement,  mental  and  physical,  to 
doubt  whether  any  part  of  the  globe  is  absolutely 
"  beyond  the  reach  of  navigation  ! ")  He  dis- 
covered also  the  islands  of  New  Caledonia  and 
Georgia,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  explored 
the  western  coasts  of  North  America  into  the 
frozen  regions,  and  ascertained  the  proximity 
of  the  two  great  continents  of  Asia  and 
America.  In  short, — to  use  the  words  of  his 
biographer,  which  compress  the  nature  and 
value  of  the  great  navigator's  services  to  man- 
kind into  a  small  and  easily  comprehended 
point — "  if  we  except  the  sea  of  Amur  and  the 
Japanese  Archipelago,  wnich  still  remains  im- 
perfectly known  to  Europeans,  he  has  completed 
the  hydrography  of  the  habitable  globe." 

It  *  It:  n  1^ 

Captain  Cook  has  passed  away,  and  the 
generation  of  men,  with  those  whom  he  bene- 
fited and  those  who  slew  him,  has  gone  to  its 
account,  but  the  Coral  Islands  remain  as  they 
were  of  old,  resplendent  with  the  beautiful 
works  of  God,  though  not,  as  of  old,  marred  so 


124 


THE  CANNIBAL  ISLANDS. 


terribly  by  the  diabolical  devices  of  man. 
"  Cannibal  Islands"  some  of  them  still  are, 
without  doubt,  but  a  large  proportion  of  them 
have  been  saved  from  heathen  darkness  by  the 
light  of  God's  Truth  as  revealed  in  the  Holy 
Bible,  and  many  thousands  of  islanders — in- 
cluding the  descendants  of  those  who  slew  the 
great  Captain  of  the  last  generation — have 
enrolled  themselves  under  the  banner  of  the 
"Captain  of  our  salvation,"  and  are  now,  through 
God's  mercy,  clothed  and  in  their  right  mind. 


rsBcsu 


The  Battle  of  the  Nile. 


• 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


CHAPTER   I. 


TOUCHES  ON  OUR  HERD'S  EARLY  LIFE,  EXPERIENCES, 
AND  ADVENTURES. 

BILL  BOWLS  was  the  most  amiable,  gentle, 
kindly,  and  modest  fellow  that  ever  trod 
the  deck  of  a  man-of-war.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  most  lion-hearted  men  in  the  Navy. 

When  Bill  was  a  baby — a  round-faced,  large- 
eyed,  fat-legged  baby,  as  unlike  to  the  bronzed, 
whiskered,  strapping  seaman  who  went  by  the 
name  of  "  Fighting  Bill"  as  a  jack-daw  is  to  a 
marlinespike — when  Bill  was  a  baby,  his  father 
used  to  say  he  was  just  cut  out  for  a  sailor ; 
and  he  was  right,  for  the  urchin  was  overflow- 
ing with  vigour  and  muscular  energy.  He  was 
utterly  reckless,  and  very  earnest — we  might 
almost  say  desperately  earnest.  Whatever  he 
undertook  to  do  he  did  "with  a  \nW  He 
spoke  with  a  will,  hstened  with  a  vnW,  laughed, 
yelled,  ate,  slept,  wrought,  and  fought  with  a 


8      THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 

will.  In  short,  he  was  a  splendid  little  fellow, 
and  therefore,  as  his  father  wisely  said,  was 
just  cut  out  for  a  sailor. 

Bill  seemed  to  hold  the  same  opinion,  for  he 
took  to  the  water  quite  naturally  from  the  very 
commencement  of  life.  He  laughed  with  glee 
when  his  mother  used  to  put  him  into  the 
wash-tub,  and  howled  with  rage  when  she  took 
him  out.  Dancing  bareheaded  under  heavy 
rain  was  his  delight,  wading  in  ponds  and 
rivers  was  his  common  practice,  and  tumbling 
into  deep  pools  was  his  most  ordinary  mishap. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  Bill  learned  at  an  early 
age  to  swim,  and  also  to  fear  nothing  whatever, 
except  a  blowing  up  from  his  father.  He 
feared  that,  but  he  did  not  often  get  it,  because, 
although  full  of  mischief  as  an  egg  is  full  of 
meat,  he  was  good-humoured  and  bidable,  and, 
like  all  lion-hearted  fellows,  he  had  Httle  or  no 
malice  in  him. 

He  began  his  professional  career  very  early 
in  life.  When  in  after  years  he  talked  to  his 
comrades  on  this  subject,  he  used  to  say — 

"  Yes,  mates,  I  did  begin  to  study  navigation 
w'en  I  was  about  two  foot  high — more  or  less 
— an'  I  tell  ee  what  it  is,  there 's  nothin'  like 
takin'  old  Father  Time  by  the  forelock.  I  was 
about  four  year  old  when  I  took  my  first  start 
in  the  nautical  way ;  and  p'r'aps  ye  won't  believe 
it,  but  it 's  a  fact,  I   launched  my  first  ship 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


myself;  owned  lier;  commanded  and  iicavigated 
her,  and  was  wrecked  on  my  first  voyage.  It 
happened  this  way :  my  father  was  a  mill- 
wright, he  was,  and  lived  near  a  small  lake, 
where  I  used  to  splutter  about  a  good  deal. 
One  day  I  got  hold  of  a  big  plank,  launched  it 
after  half  an  hour  o'  the  hardest  work  I  ever 
had,  got  on  it  with  a  bit  of  broken  palin'  for 
an  oar,  an'  shoved  off  into  deep  water.  It  was 
a  splendid  burst !  Away  I  went  with  my  heart 
in  my  mouth  and  my  feet  in  the  water  trpn' 
to  steady  myself,  but  as  ill  luck  would  have  it, 
just  as  I  had  got  my  ship  on  an  even  keel  an' 
was  beginnin'  to  dip  my  oar  with  great  caution, 
a  squall  came  down  the  lake,  caught  me  on  the 
starboard  quarter,  and  threw  me  on  my  beam- 
ends.  Of  coorse  I  went  sowse  into  the  water, 
and  had  only  time  to  give  out  one  awful  yell 
when  the  water  shut  me  up.  Fortnitly  my 
father  heard  me  ;  jumped  in  and  pulled  me  out, 
but  instead  of  kicking  me  or  blowin'  me  up, 
he  told  me  that  I  should  have  kept  my  weather 
eye  open  an'  met  the  squall  head  to  wind. 
Then  he  got  hold  of  the  plank  and  made  me 
try  it  again,  and  didn't  leave  me  till  I  was  able 
to  paddle  about  on  that  plank  almost  as  well 
as  any  Eskimo  in  his  skin  canoe.  My  good  old 
dad  finished  the  lesson  by  tellin'  me  to  keep 
always  in  shoal  icatcr  till  I  could  stvim,  and  to 
look  out  for  squalls  in  future !     It  was  lucky 


10     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

for  me  that  I  had  learned  to  obey  him,  for  many 
a  time  I  was  capsized  after  that,  when  nobody 
was  near  me,  but  bein'  always  in  shoal  water, 
I  managed  to  scramble  ashore." 

As  Bill  Bowls  began  life  so  he  continued  it. 
He  went  to  sea  in  good  earnest  when  quite  a 
boy,  and  spent  his  first  years  in  the  coasting 
trade,  in  which  rough  service  he  became  a 
thorough  seaman,  and  was  wrecked  several  time?; 
on  various  parts  of  our  stormy  shores.  On 
reaching  man's  estate  he  turned  a  longing  eye 
to  foreign  lands,  and  in  course  of  time  visited 
some  of  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  globe,  so 
that  he  may  be  said  to  have  been  a  great  traveller 
before  his  whiskers  were  darker  than  a  lady's 
eyebrows. 

During  these  voyages,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
he  experienced  great  variety  of  fortune.  He 
had  faced  the  wildest  of  storms,  and  bathed  in 
the  beams  of  the  brightest  sunshine.  He  was 
as  familiar  with  wreck  as  with  rations ;  every 
species  of  nautical  disaster  had  befallen  him ; 
typhoons,  cyclones,  and  simooms  had  done  their 
worst  to  him,  but  they  could  not  kill  him,  for 
Bill  bore  a  sort  of  charmed  life,  and  invariably 
turned  up  again,  no  matter  how  many  of  his 
shipmates  went  down.  Despite  the  rough  ex- 
periences of  his  career  he  was  as  fresh  and  good- 
looking  a  young  fellow  as  one  would  wish  to 
see. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE, 


11 


Before  proceeding  with  the  narrative  of  his 
life,  we  shall  give  just  one  specimen  of  his  ex- 
periences while  he  was  in  the  merchant  service. 

Having  joined  a  ship  bound  for  China,  he  set 
sail  with  the  proverbial  light  heart  and  light 
pair  of  breeches,  to  which  we  may  add  light 
pockets.  His  heart  soon  became  somewhat 
heavier  when  he  discovered  that  his  captain  was 
a  tyrant,  whose  chief  joy  appeared  to  consist  in 
maJdng  other  people  miserable.  Bill  Bowls's 
nature,  however,  was  adaptable,  so  that  although 
his  spirits  were  a  little  subdued,  they  were  not 
crushed.  He  was  wont  to  console  himself,  and 
his  comrades,  with  the  remark  that  this  state 
of  things  couldn't  last  for  ever,  that  the  voyage 
would  come  to  an  end  some  time  or  other,  and 
that  men  should  never  say  die  as  long  as  there 
remained  a  shot  in  the  locker ! 

That  voyage  did  come  to  an  end  much  sooner 
than  he  or  the  tyrannical  captain  expected ! 

One  evening  our  hero  stood  near  the  binnacle 
talking  to  the  steersman,  a  sturdy  middle-aged 
sailor,  whose  breadth  appeared  to  be  nearly  equal 
to  his  length. 

"  Tom  Kiggles,"  said  Bill,  somewhat  abruptly, 
"  we  're  goin'  to  have  dirty  weather." 

"  That 's  so,  lad,  I  'm  not  goin'  to  deny  it," 
replied  Tom,  as  he  turned  the  wheel  a  little  to 
windward. 

Most  landsmen  would  have  supposed  that 


12 


THE  BATTLE  A2JD  THE  BREEZE. 


Bill's  remark  should  have  been,  "  We  have  got 
dirty  weather,"  for  at  the  time  he  spoke  the 
good  ship  was  bending  down  before  a  stiff 
breeze,  which  caused  the  dark  sea  to  dash  over 
her  bulwarks  and  sweep  the  decks  continually, 
while  thick  clouds,  the  colour  of  pea-soup,  were 
scudding  across  the  sky;  but  seafaring  men 
spoke  of  it  as  a  "  capful  of  wind,"  and  Bill's 
remark  was  founded  on  the  fact  that,  for  an 
hour  past,  the  gale  had  been  increasing,  and 
the  appearance  of  sea  and  sky  was  becoming 
more  threatening. 

That  night  the  captain  stood  for  hours  hold- 
ing on  to  the  weather  shrouds  of  the  mizzen- 
mast  without  uttering  a  word  to  any  one, 
except  that  now  and  then,  at  long  intervals,  he 
asked  the  steersman  how  the  ship's  head  lay. 
Dark  although  the  sky  was,  it  did  not  seem  so 
threatening  as  did  the  countenance  of  the  man 
who  commanded  the  vessel. 

Already  the  ship  was  scudding  before  the 
wind,  with  only  the  smallest  rag  of  canvas 
hoisted,  yet  she  rose  on  the  great  waves  and 
plunged  madly  into  the  hollows  between  with 
a  violence  that  almost  tore  the  masts  out  of  her. 
The  chief-mate  stood  by  the  wheel  assisting  the 
steersman ;  the  crew  clustered  on  the  starboard 
side  of  the  forecastle,  casting  uneasy  glances 
now  at  the  chaos  of  foaming  water  ahead,  and 
then  at  the  face  of  their  captain,  which  waa 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BBEEZE. 


13 


occasionally  seen  in  the  pale  light  of  a  stray 
moonbeam.  In  ordinary  circumstances  these 
men  would  have  smiled  at  the  storm,  but  they 
had  unusual  cause  for  anxiety  at  that  time,  for 
they  knew  that  the  captain  was  a  drunkard, 
and,  from  the  short  experience  they  had  already 
had  of  him,  they  feared  that  he  was  not  capable 
of  managing  the  ship. 

"  Had  we  not  better  keep  her  a  point  more 
to  the  south'ard,  sir?"  said  the  mate  to  the 
captain,  respectfully  touching  his  cap;  "reefs 
are  said  to  be  numerous  here  about." 

"  No,  Mister  Wilson,"  answered  the  captain, 
with  the  gruff  air  of  a  man  who  assumes  and 
asserts  that  he  knows  what  he  is  about,  and 
does  not  want  advice. 

"  Keep  her  a  point  to  the  west,"  he  added, 
turning  to  the  steersman. 

There  was  a  cry  at  that  moment — a  cry  such 
as  might  have  chilled  the  blood  in  the  stoutest 
heart — 

"Eocks  ahead!" 

"Port!  port!  hard-a-port ! "  shouted  the 
men.  Their  hoarse  voices  rose  above  the  gale, 
but  not  above  the  terrible  roar  of  the  surf, 
which  now  mingled  with  the  din  of  the  storm. 

The  order  was  repeated  by  the  mate,  who 
sprang  to  the  wheel  and  assisted  in  obeying  it. 
Round  came  the  gallant  ship  with  a  magni- 
ficent sweep,  and  in  another  moment  she  would 


14 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


have  been  head  to  wind,  when  a  sudden  squall 
burst  upon  her  broadside  and  threw  her  on  her 
beam-ends. 

When  this  happened  the  mate  sprang  to  the 
companion  hatch  to  get  an  axe,  intending  to 
cut  the  weather-shrouds,  so  that  the  masts 
might  go  overboard  and  allow  the  ship  to  right 
herself,  for,  as  she  then  lay,  the  water  was 
pouring  into  her,  Tom  Riggles  was,  when  she 
heeled  over,  thrown  violently  against  the  mate, 
and  both  men  rolled  to  leeward.  This  accident 
was  the  means  of  saving  them  for  the  time,  for 
just  then  the  mizzen  rigging  gave  way,  the 
mast  snapped  across,  and  the  captain  and  some 
of  the  men  who  had  been  hastening  aft  were 
swept  with  the  wreck  into  the  sea. 

A  few  minutes  elapsed  ere  Tom  and  the 
mate  gained  a  place  of  partial  security  on  the 
poop.  The  scene  that  met  their  gaze  there 
was  terrible  beyond  description.  Not  far  ahead 
the  sea  roared  in  irresistible  fury  on  a  reef 
of  rocks,  towards  which  the  ship  was  slowly 
drifting.  The  light  of  the  moon  was  just 
sufficient  to  show  that  a  few  of  the  men  were 
still  clinging  to  the  rail  of  the  forecastle,  and 
that  the  rigging  of  the  main  and  fore  masts  still 
held  fast. 

"  Have  you  got  the  hatchet  yet  1"  asked  Tom 
of  the  mate,  who  clung  to  a  belaying-pin  close 
behind  him. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


15 


"Ay,  but  what  matters  it  whether  we  strike 
the  rocks  on  our  beam-ends  or  an  even  keel]" 

The  mate  spoke  in  the  tones  of  a  man  who 
desperately  dares  the  fate  which  he  cannot 
avoid. 

"  Here !  let  me  have  it ! "  cried  Tom. 

He  seized  the  hatchet  as  he  spoke  and 
clambered  to  the  gangway.  A  few  strokes 
sufficed  to  cut  the  overstrained  ropes,  and  the 
mainmast  snapped  off  with  a  loud  report,  and 
the  ship  slowly  righted. 

"Hold  on!"  shouted  Tom  to  a  man  who 
appeared  to  be  slipping  off  the  bulwarks  into 
the  sea. 

As  no  reply  was  given,  the  sailor  boldly  leapt 
forward,  caught  the  man  by  the  collar,  and 
dragged  him  into  a  position  of  safety. 

"Why,  Bill,  my  boy,  is't  you]"  exclaimed 
the  worthy  man  in  a  tone  of  surprise,  as  he 
looked  at  the  face  of  our  hero,  who  lay  on  the 
deck  at  his  feet ;  but  poor  Bill  made  no  reply, 
and  it  was  not  until  a  glass  of  rum  had  been 
poured  down  his  throat  by  his  deliverer  that 
he  began  to  recover. 

Several  of  the  crew  who  had  clung  to  different 
parts  of  the  wreck  now  came  aft  one  by  one, 
until  most  of  the  survivors  were  grouped  to- 
gether near  the  wheel,  awaiting  in  silence  the 
shock  which  they  knew  must  inevitably  take 
place  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes,  for  the 


1 6     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

ship,  having  righted,  now  drifted  with  greater 
rapidity  to  her  doom. 

It  was  an  awful  moment  for  these  miserable 
men!  If  they  could  have  only  vented  their 
feelings  in  vigorous  action  it  would  have  been 
some  relief,  but  this  was  impossible,  for  wave 
after  wave  washed  over  the  stem  and  swept  the 
decks,  obliging  them  to  hold  on  for  their  lives. 

At  last  the  shock  came.  With  a  terrible 
crash  the  good  ship  struck  and  recoiled,  quiver- 
ing in  every  plank.  On  the  back  of  another 
wave  she  was  lifted  up,  and  again  cast  on  the 
cruel  rocks.  There  was  a  sound  of  rending 
wood  and  snapping  cordage,  and  next  moment 
the  foremast  was  in  the  sea,  tossing  violently, 
and  beating  against  the  ship's  side,  to  which  it 
was  still  attached  by  part  of  the  rigging.  Three 
of  the  men  who  had  clung  to  the  shrouds  of 
the  foremast  were  swept  overboard  and  drowned. 
Once  more  the  wreck  recoiled,  rose  again  on  a 
towering  billow,  and  was  launched  on  the  rocks 
with  such  violence  that  she  was  forced  forward 
and  upwards  several  yards,  and  remained  fixed. 

Slight  although  this  change  was  for  the 
better,  it  sufficed  to  infuse  hope  into  the  hearts 
of  the  hitherto  despairing  sailors.  The  dread 
of  being  instantly  dashed  to  pieces  was  removed, 
and  with  one  consent  they  scrambled  to  the 
bow  to  see  if  there  was  any  chance  of  reaching 
the  shore. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


17 


Clinging  to  the  fore-part  of  the  ship  they 
found  the  cook,  a  negro,  whose  right  arm  sup- 
ported the  insensible  form  of  a  woman — the 
only  woman  on  board  that  ship.  She  was  the 
wife  of  the  carpenter.  Her  husband  had  been 
among  the  first  of  those  who  were  swept  over- 
board and  drowned. 

"Hold  on  to  her,  massa,"  exclaimed  the 
cook ;  "  my  arm  a'most  brok." 

The  mate,  to  whom  he  appealed,  at  once 
grasped  the  woman,  and  was  about  to  attempt 
to  drag  her  under  the  lee  of  the  caboose,  when 
the  vessel  sHpped  ofi'the  rocks  into  the  sea,  parted 
amidships,  and  was  instantly  overwhelmed. 

For  some  minutes  Bill  Bowls  struggled  power- 
fully to  gain  the  shore,  but  the  force  of  the 
boiling  water  was  such  that  he  was  as  helpless 
as  if  he  had  been  a  mere  infant ;  his  strength, 
great  though  it  was,  began  to  fail ;  several  severe 
blows  that  he  received  from  portions  of  the 
wreck  nearly  stunned  him,  and  he  felt  the 
stupor  that  preceded  death  overpowering  him, 
when  he  was  providentially  cast  upon  a  ledge 
of  rock.  Against  the  same  ledge  most  of  his 
shipmates  were  dashed  by  the  waves  and  killed, 
but  he  was  thrown  upon  it  softly.  Eetaining 
sufficient  reason  to  realize  his  position,  he  clam- 
bered further  up  the  rocks,  and  uttered  an  earn- 
est "  Thank  God  ! "  as  he  fell  down  exhausted 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  angry  waves. 


18 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


Soon,  however,  his  energies  began  to  revive, 
and  his  first  impulse,  when  thought  and  strength 
returned,  was  to  rise  and  stagger  down  to  the 
rocks,  to  assist,  if  possible,  any  of  his  shipmates 
who  might  have  been  cast  ashore.  He  found 
only  one,  who  was  lying  in  a  state  of  insensi- 
bility on  a  little  strip  of  sand.  The  waves 
had  just  cast  him  there,  and  another  towering 
billow  approached,  which  would  infallibly  have 
washed  him  away,  had  not  Bill  rushed  forward 
and  dragged  him  out  of  danger. 

It  proved  to  be  his  friend  Tom  Eiggles. 
Finding  that  he  was  not  quite  dead.  Bill  set  to 
work  with  all  his  energy  to  revive  him,  and 
was  so  successful  that  in  half-an-hour  the  sturdy 
seaman  was  enabled  to  sit  up  and  gaze  round 
him  with  the  stupid  expression  of  a  tipsy 
man. 

"  Come,  cheer  up,"  said  Bill,  clapping  him  on 
the  back  ;  "  you  '11  be  all  right  in  a  short  while." 

"Wot's  to  do?"  said  Tom,  staring  at  his 
rescuer. 

"You're  all  right,"  repeated  Bill.  "One 
good  turn  deserves  another,  Tom.  You  saved 
my  life  a  few  minutes  ago,  and  now  I  've  hauled 
you  out  o'  the  water,  old  boy." 

The  sailor's  faculties  seemed  to  return 
quickly  on  hearing  this.  He  endeavoured  to 
rise,  exclaiming — 

"Any  more  saved  V 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


19 


"I  fear  not,"  answered  Bill  sadly,  shaking 
his  head. 

"  Let 's  go  see,"  cried  Tom,  staggering  along 
the  beach  in  search  of  his  shipmates  ;  but  none 
were  found ;  all  had  perished,  and  their  bodies 
were  swept  away  far  from  the  spot  where  the 
ship  had  met  her  doom. 

At  daybreak  it  was  discovered  that  the  ship 
had  struck  on  a  low  rocky  islet  on  which  there 
was  little  or  no  vegetation.  Here  for  three 
weeks  the  two  shipwrecked  sailors  lived  in 
great  privation,  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather,  and  subsisting  chiefly  on  shell-fish. 
They  had  almost  given  way  to  despair,  when 
a  passing  vessel  observed  them,  took  them  off", 
and  conveyed  them  in  safety  to  their  native 
land. 

Such  was  one  of  the  incidents  in  our  hero's 
career. 


20 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


CHAPTER  ir. 


COMMENCES   THE   STOET. 


A  BOUT  the  beginning  of  tlie  present  century, 
'^^  during  the  height  of  the  war  with  France, 
the  little  fishing  village  of  Fairway  was  thrown 
into  a  state  of  considerable  alarm  by  the 
appearance  of  a  ship  of  war  off  the  coast,  and 
the  landing  therefrom  of  a  body  of  blue-jackets. 
At  that  time  it  was  the  barbarous  custom  to 
impress  men,  willing  or  not  willing,  into  the 
Royal  Navy.  The  more  effective,  and  at  the 
same  time  just,  method  of  enrolling  men  in  a 
naval  reserve  force  had  not  occurred  to  our 
rulers,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  the  in- 
habitants of  sea-port  towns  and  fishing  villages 
were  on  the  constant  look-out  for  the  press-gang. 
At  the  time  when  the  man-of-war's  boat  rowed 
alongside  of  the  little  jetty  of  Fairway,  an 
interesting  couple  chanced  to  be  seated  in  a 
bower  at  the  back  of  a  very  small  but  particu- 
larly neat  cottage  near  the  shore.  The  bower 
was  in  keeping  with  its  surroundings,  being  the 
half  of  an  old  boat  set  up  on  end.     Eoses  and 


THE  BATTLE  AXD  THE  BREEZE. 


21 


honeysuckle  were  trained  up  the  sides  of  it, 
and  these,  mingling  their  fragrance  with  the 
smell  of  tar,  diffused  an  agreeable  odour  around. 
The  couple  referred  to  sat  very  close  to  each 
other,  and  appeared  to  be  engaged  in  conversa- 
tion of  a  confidential  nature.  One  was  a  fair 
and  rather  pretty  girl  of  the  fishing  community. 
The  other  was  a  stout  and  uncommonly  hand- 
some man  of  five-and-twenty,  apparently  be- 
longing to  the  same  class,  but  there  was  more 
of  the  regular  sailor  than  the  fisherman  in  his 
costume  and  appearance.  In  regard  to  their 
conversation,  it  may  be  well,  perhaps,  to  let 
them  speak  for  themselves. 

"I  tell  ee  wot  it  is,  Nelly  Bl}i,h,"  said  the  man, 
in  a  somewhat  stern  tone  of  voice  ;  "  it  won't  suit 
me  to  dilly-dally  in  this  here  fashion  any  longer. 
You've  kept  me  hanging  off  and  on  until  I 
have  lost  my  chance  of  gettin'  to  be  mate  of  a 
Noocastle  collier ;  an'  here  I  am  now,  with 
nothin'  to  do,  yawin'  about  like  a  Dutchman  in 
a  heavy  swell,  an'  feelin'  ashamed  of  myself." 

"Don't  be  so  hasty.  Bill,"  replied  the  girl, 
glancing  up  at  her  lover's  face  with  an  arch 
smile  ;  "  what  would  you  have  V 

"What  would  I  have?"  repeated  the  sailor, 
in  a  tone  of  mingled  surprise  and  exasperation. 
"Well,  I  never — no,  I  never  did  see  nothin' 
Like  you  women  for  bamboozlin'  men.  It  seems 
to  me  you  're  like  ships  without  helms.     One 

2b 


22  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 

moment  you  're  beatin'  as  hard  as  you  can  to 
wiud'ard  ;  the  next  you  fall  off  all  of  a  sudden 
and  scud  away  right  before  the  breeze ;  or, 
whew !  round  you  come  into  the  wind's  eye, 
an'  lay  to  as  if  you  'd  bin  caught  in  the  heavi- 
est gale  that  ever  blow'd  since  Admiral  Noah 
cast  anchor  on  Mount  Ararat.  Didn't  you 
say,  not  three  weeks  gone  by,  that  you  'd  be 
my  wife  1  and  now  you  ask  me,  as  cool  as  an 
iceberg,  what  I  would  have !  Why,  Nelly,  I 
would  have  our  wedding-day  fixed,  our  cottage 
looked  after,  our  boat  and  nets  bought ;  in  fact, 
our  home  and  business  set  agoin'.  And  why 
not  at  once,  Nelly  1  Surely  you  have  not  re- 
pented— " 

"  No,  Bill  Bowls,"  said  Nelly,  blushing,  and 
laying  her  hand  on  the  arm  of  her  companion, 
"  I  have  not  repented,  and  never  will  repent, 
of  having  accepted  the  best  man  that  ever 
came  to  Fairway ;  but — " 

The  girl  paused  and  looked  down. 

"  There  you  go,"  cried  the  sailor,  "  the  old 
story.  I  knew  you  would  come  to  that '  but,' 
and  that  you'd  stick  there.  Why  don't  you 
go  on  ?  If  I  thought  that  you  wanted  to  wait 
a  year  or  two,  I  could  easily  find  work  in 
these  times  ;  for  Admiral  Nelson  is  glad  to  get 
men  to  follow  him  to  the  wars,  an'  Tom  Eiggles 
and  I  have  been  talkin'  about  goin'  off  to- 
gether." 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


23 


"Don't  speak  of  that,  Bill,"  said  the  girl 
earnestly.  "  I  dread  the  thought  of  you  going 
to  the  wars  ;  but — but — the  truth  is,  I  cannot 
make  up  my  mind  to  quit  my  mother." 

"You  don't  need  to  quit  her,"  said  Bill; 
"  bring  her  with  you.  I  'U  be  glad  to  have  her 
at  my  fireside,  for  your  sake,  NelL" 

"  But  she  won't  leave  the  old  house." 

"  H'm  !  well,  that  difiiculty  may  be  got  over 
by  my  comin'  to  the  old  house,  since  the  old 
ooman  won't  come  to  the  noo  one.  I  can  rent 
it  from  her,  and  buy  up  the  furniture  as  it 
stands ;  so  that  there  will  be  no  occasion  for 
her  to  move  out  of  her  chair. — Why,  what 's 
the  objection  to  that  plan  ?"  he  added,  on 
observing  that  Nelly  shook  her  head. 

"  She  would  never  consent  to  sell  the  things, 
— not  even  to  you,  Bill ;  and  she  has  been  so 
long  the  head  of  the  house  that  I  don't  think 
she  would  like  to — to — " 

*'  To  play  second  fiddle,"  put  in  the  sailor. 
"  Very  good,  but  I  won't  ask  to  play  first  fiddle. 
In  fact,  she  may  have  first,  second,  and  third, 
and  double  bass  and  trombone,  all  to  herself  as 
far  as  I  am  concerned.  Come,  Nelly,  don't  let 
us  have  any  more  '  buts ; '  just  name  the  day, 
and  I  '11  bear  down  on  the  parson  this  very 
afternoon." 

Leaving  them  to  continue  the  discussion  of 
this  interesting  point,  we  will  turn  into  the 


24     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

cottage  and  visit  the  old  woman  who  stood  so 
much  in  the  way  of  our  hero's  wishes. 

Mrs.  Blyth  was  one  of  those  unfortunates 
who,  although  not  very  old,  have  been,  by  ill- 
health,  reduced  to  the  appearance  of  extreme 
old  age.  Nevertheless,  she  had  been  blessed 
with  that  Christian  spirit  of  calm,  gentle  resigna- 
tion, which  is  frequently  seen  in  aged  invalids, 
enabling  them  to  bear  up  cheerfully  under  heavy 
griefs  and  sufferings.  She  was  very  little,  very 
thin,  very  lame,  very  old-looking  (ninety  at 
least,  in  appearance),  very  tremulous,  very  sub- 
dued, and  very  sweet.  Even  that  termagant 
gossip,  Mrs.  Hardsoul,  who  dwelt  alone  in  a. 
tumble-down  hut  near  the  quay,  was  heard 
upon  one  occasion  to  speak  of  her  as  "dear  old 
Mrs.  Blyth." 

Beside  Mrs.  Blyth,  on  a  stool,  engaged  in 
peeling  potatoes,  sat  a  young  woman  who  was 
in  all  respects  her  opposite.  Bessy  Blunt  was 
tall,  broad,  muscular,  plain-looking,  masculine, 
and  remarkably  unsubdued.  She  was  a  sort  of 
maid-of-all-work  and  companion  to  the  old 
woman.  Mrs.  Blyth  lived  in  the  hope  of  sub- 
duing her  attendant — who  was  also  her  niece — 
by  means  of  kindness. 

"  Who  came  into  the  garden  just  now  V* 
asked  Mrs.  Blyth  in  a  meek  voice. 

"  Who  would  it  be  but  William  Bowls  ?  sure 
he  comes  twice  every  day,  sometimes  oftener," 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


25 


replied  Bessy  ;  "  but  what 's  the  use  ?  nothing 
comes  of  it." 

"  Something  may  come  of  it,  Bessy,"  said  Mrs. 
Blyth,  "  if  William  settles  doAvn  steadily  to 
work;  but  I  am  anxious  about  him,  for  he 
seems  to  me  hasty  in  temper.  Surely,  Bessy, 
you  would  not  like  to  see  our  Nell  married  to 
an  angry  man  1" 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  replied  the  girl 
testily,  as  she  cut  a  potato  in  two  halves  with 
unnecessary  violence;  "all  I  know  is  that  I 
would  like  to  see  her  married  to  Bill  Bowls. 
He 's  an  able,  handsome  man.  Indeed,  I  would 
gladly  marry  him  myself  if  he  asked  me  !" 

Mrs.  Blyth  smiled  a  little  at  this.  Bessy 
frowned  at  a  potato  and  said  "  Humph ! " 
sternly. 

Now  it  happened  just  at  that  moment  that  the 
press-gang  before  referred  to  arrived  in  front  of 
the  cottage.  Bessy  chanced  to  look  through  the 
window,  and  saw  them  pass.  Instantly  she  ran 
to  the  back  door  and  screamed  "  Press-gang,"  as 
a  warning  to  Bill  to  get  out  of  the  way  and  hide 
himself  as  quickly  as  possible,  then,  hastening 
back,  she  seized  one  of  old  Mrs.  Blyth's 
crutches,  ran  to  the  front  door,  and  slammed 
it  to,  just  as  the  leader  of  the  gang  came 
forward. 

]\Ieanwhile  William  Bowls,  knowing  that  if 
he  did  not  make  his  escape,  his  hopes  of  being 


26 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


married  speedily  would  be  blasted,  turned  to 
leap  over  the  garden  wall,  but  the  leader  of 
the  press-gang  had  taken  care  to  guard  against 
such  a  contingency  by  sending  a  detachment 
round  to  the  rear, 

"  It 's  all  up  with  me !"  cried  Bill,  with  a  look 
of  chagrin,  on  observing  the  men. 

"  Come,  hide  in  the  kitchen  ;  quick  !  I 
will  show  you  where,"  cried  Nelly,  seizing  his 
hand  and  leading  him  into  the  house,  the 
back  door  of  which  she  locked  and  barred. 

"There,  get  in,"  cried  the  girl,  opening  a 
low  door  in  the  wall,  which  revealed  the  coal- 
hole of  the  establishment. 

Bill's  brow  flushed.  He  drew  back  with  a 
proud  stern  look  and  hesitated. 

"  Oh,  do  !  for  my  sake,"  implored  ISTeU. 

A  thundering  rap  on  the  front  door  re- 
sounded through  the  cottage;  the  sailor  put 
his  pride  in  his  pocket,  stooped  low  and  darted 
in.  Nelly  shut  the  door,  and  leaned  a  baking- 
board  against  it. 

*'  Let  us  in ! "  said  a  deep  voice  outside. 

"  Never  !"  replied  Bessy,  stamping  her  foot. 

"  You  had  better,  dear,"  replied  the  voice, 
in  a  conciliatory  tone ;  "  we  won't  do  you  any 
harm," 

"  Go  along  with  you — brutes  ! "  said  the  girl. 

"We'll  have  to  force  the  door  if  you  don't 
open  it,  my  dear." 


I 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


27 


"  You'd   better  not ! "  cried   Bessy  through 
the  keyhole. 

At  the  same  time  she  applied  her  eye  to  that 
orifice,  and  instantly  stari;ed  back,  for  she  saw 
the  leader  of  the  gang  retire  a  few  paces  pre- 
paratory to  making  a  rush.  There  was  short 
time  for  action,  nevertheless  Bessy  was  quick 
enough  to  fling  down  a  large  stool  in  front  of 
the  door  and  place  herself  in  an  attitude  of  de- 
fence. Next  moment  the  door  flew  open  with 
a  crash,  and  a  sailor  sprang  in,  cutlass  in  hand. 
As  a  matter  of  course  he  tripped  over  the  stool, 
and  fell  prostrate  at  Bessy's  feet,  and  the  man 
who  followed  received  such  a  well-delivered  blow 
from  the  crutch  that  he  fell  on  the  top  of  his 
comrade.  While  the  heroine  was  in  the  act  of 
receiving  the  third  she  felt  both  her  ankles 
seized  by  the  man  who  had  fallen  first.  A 
piercing  yell  followed.  In  attempting  to  free 
herself  she  staggered  back  and  fell,  the  crutch 
was  wrenched  from  her  grasp,  and  the  whole 
gang  poured  over  her  into  the  kitchen,  where 
they  were  met  by  their  comrades,  who  had  just 
burst  in  the  back  door. 

"  Search  close,"  cried  one  of  these ;  "  there 's 
a  big  fellow  in  the  house ;  we  saw  Jiim  run  into 
it." 

"  You  may  save  yourselves  the  trouble ; 
there 's  no  man  in  this  house,"  cried  Bessy,  who 
had  risen  and  followed  her  conquerors,  and  who 


28  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

now  stood,  with  dishevelled  locks,  flushed  coun- 
tenance, and  gleanaing  eyes,  vowing  summary 
vengeance  on  the  first  man  she  caught  off  his 
guard  ! 

As  the  men  believed  her,  they  took  care  to 
keep  well  on  their  guard  while  engaged  in  the 
search.  Poor  old  Mrs.  Blyth  looked  absolutely 
horror-stricken  at  this  invasion  of  her  cottage, 
and  Nelly  stood  beside  her,  pale  as  marble  and 
trembling  with  anxiety. 

Every  hole  and  corner  of  the  house  was 
searched  without  success ;  the  floors  were  ex- 
amined for  trap-doors,  and  even  the  ceilings 
were  carefully  looked  over,  but  there  was  no 
sign  of  any  secret  door,  and  the  careless  manner 
in  which  the  bake-board  had  been  leaned 
against  the  wall,  as  well  as  its  small  size,  pre- 
vented suspicion  being  awakened  in  that  direc- 
tion. This  being  the  case,  the  leader  of  the 
gang  called  two  of  his  men  aside  and  engaged 
in  a  whispered  conversation. 

"  It 's  quite  certain  that  he  is  here,"  said 
one,  "  but  where  they  have  stowed  him  is  the 
puzzle." 

"  Well,  it  is  indeed  a  puzzle,"  replied  the 
leader,  "  but  I/ve  thought  of  a  plan.  He  may 
be  the  father,  or  brother,  or  cousin  of  the  house- 
hold, d'ye  see,  and  it  strikes  me  if  we  were  to 
pretend  to  insult  the  women  that  would  draw 
him  out ! " 


TEE  BATTLE  AUD  THE  BREEZE. 


29 


"  But  I  don't  half  like  that  notion,"  said  one 
of  the  men. 

"  Why  not  ?"  asked  the  other,  who  wore  a 
huge  pair  of  whiskers,  "  it 's  only  pretence,  you 
know.     Come,  I  '11  try  it." 

Saying  this  he  went  towards  old  Mrs.  Blyth, 
and  whispered  to  Nelly — 

"  Don't  be  frightened,  my  ducky,  we  're  only 
a-goin'  to  try  a  dodge,  d'  ye  see.  Stand  by,  we 
won't  do  you  no  harm." 

The  man  winked  solemnly  several  times 
with  the  view  of  reassuring  Nelly,  and  then  rais- 
ing his  voice  to  a  loud  pitch  exclaimed — 

"  Come  noAv,  old  ooman,  it 's  quite  plain  that 
there 's  a  feller  in  this  here  house,  an'  as  we 
can't  find  him  nowheres,  we've  come  to  the 
conclusion  he  must  be  under  your  big  chair. 
In  coorse  we  must  ask  you  to  git  up,  an'  as  ye 
don't  seem  to  be  able  to  do  that  very  well, 
we  11  have  to  lift  you.     So  here  goes." 

The  man  seized  the  old  woman's  chair  and 
shuffled  with  his  feet  as  though  he  were  about 
to  lift  it.  Nelly  screamed.  Bessy  uttered  a 
howl  of  indignation,  and  rushed  upon  the  foe 
with  teeth  and  nails  ready,  but  being  arrested 
by  a  powerful  man  in  rear,  she  vented  her 
AVTath  in  a  hideous  yell. 

The  success  of  the  scheme  was  great — much 
greater,  indeed,  than  had  been  anticipated. 
The  baiie-LQard  fell  flat  down,  the  door  of  the 


30 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


coal-hole  burst  open,  and  our  hero,  springing 
out,  planted  a  blow  on  the  nose  of  the  big- 
whiskered  man  that  laid  him  flat  on  the  floor. 
Another  blow  overturned  the  man  who  re- 
strained Bessy,  and  a  third  was  about  to  be 
delivered  when  a  general  rush  was  made,  and 
Bill  Bowls,  being  overpowered  by  numbers, 
was  finally  secured. 

"  Now,  my  fine  fellow,"  said  the  leader  of  the 
gang,  "  you  may  as  well  go  with  us  quietly,  for 
ye  see  resistance  is  useless,  an'  it  only  frightens 
the  old  woman." 

This  latter  part  of  the  remark  had  more 
eff'ect  on  the  unfortunate  Bill  than  the  former. 
He  at  once  resigned  himself  into  the  hands  of 
his  captors.  As  he  was  about  to  be  led  away, 
he  turned  towards  Mrs.  Blyth,  intending  to 
speak,  but  the  poor  old  woman  had  fainted,  and 
Nelly's  fears  for  her  lover  were  lost  for  the 
moment  in  her  anxiety  about  her  mother.  It 
was  not  until  the  party  had  left  the  room  that 
the  poor  girl  became  fully  aware  of  what  was 
going  on. 

Uttering  a  loud  cry  she  rushed  towards  the 
outer  door.  BiU  heard  the  cry,  and,  exerting 
himself  to  the  utmost,  almost  succeeded  in 
overturning  the  five  men  who  held  him. 

"  Make  your  mind  easy,"  said  one  of  them ; 
"  no  harm  will  come  to  the  women.  We  ain't 
housebreakers  or  thieves.     All  fair  an'  above 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


31 


board  we  are — true-blue  British  tars,  as  would 
rather  swing  at  the  yard-arm  than  hurt  the 
feelin's  of  a  woman,  pretty  or  ugly,  young  or 
old.  It 's  all  in  the  way  of  dooty,  d'  ye  see  1 
The  King's  orders,  young  man,  so  belay  heavin' 
about  like  that,  else  we'll  heave  ye  on  your 
beam-ends,  lash  you  hand  and  futt  to  a  hand- 
spike, and  carry  you  aboord  like  a  dead  pig." 

"  Hold  on ! "  cried  the  man  with  the  big 
whiskers,  who,  after  having  been  knocked  down, 
had  become  emphatically  the  man  with  the  big 
nose,  "I'll  go  back  an'  comfort  them  a  bit; 
don't  you  take  on  so.  /know  all  about  it — see 
through  it  like  a  double  patent  hextromogriphal 
spy-glass.  Only  goin'  on  a  short  cruise,  d'  ye 
see  1  Come  back  soon  with  lots  o'  prize-money ; 
get  spliced  right  off,  buy  a  noo  gown  with  big 
flowers  aU  over  it  for  the  old  mother,  pension 
off  the  stout  gal  wi'  the  crutch — all  straight ; 
that 's  the  thing,  ain't  it  V 

"Don't,  don't,"  entreated  Bill  earnestly; 
"  don't  go  for  to— to— " 

"  No  fear,  young  man,"  replied  the  sailor,  see- 
ing that  Bill  hesitated ;  "  Ben  Bolter  ain't  the 
man  to  do  anything  that  would  bring  discredit 
on  His  Majesty's  service,  and  I  bear  you  no 
grudge  for  this,"  he  added,  pointing  to  his 
swelled  nose ;  "  it  was  given  in  a  good  cause, 
and  received  in  the  reg'lar  way  o'  business." 

Saying   this   Ben  Bolter  ran  back  to   the 


32     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

cottage,  where  lie  tried  to  comfort  the  womeu 
to  the  best  of  his  power.  How  he  accomplished 
his  mission  does  not  remain  on  record,  but  it 
is  certain  that  he  rejoined  his  party,  in  little 
more  than  five  minutes,  with  sundry  new 
marks  of  violence  on  his  huge  honest  face, 
and  he  was  afterwards  heard  to  remark  that 
some  creatures  of  the  tiger  species  must  have 
been  born  women  by  mistake,  and  that  stout 
young  females  who  had  a  tendency  to  use 
crutches,  had  better  be  pensioned  off — or, 
"  drownded  if  possible." 

Thus  was  Wdliam  Bowls  impressed  into  the 
Koyal  Navy.  On  hearing  that  his  old  ship- 
mate had  been  caught,  Tom  Eiggles  at  once 
volunteered  into  the  service,  and  they  were 
both  sent  on  board  a  man-of-war,  and  carried 
off  to  fight  the  battles  of  their  country. 


I 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZK 


33 


CHAPTER  III. 


BILL  IS  mrriATED  INTO  THE  DUTIES  OP  HIS  NEW  STATION. 

AT  the  time  of  which  we  write,  England's 
battles  and  troubles  were  crowding  pretty 
thick  upon  one  another.  About  this  period, 
Republican  France,  besides  subduing  and  rob- 
bing Switzerland,  Italy,  Sardinia,  and  other 
States,  was  busily  engaged  in  making  pre- 
paration for  the  invasion  of  England, — 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  being  in  readiness  to 
take  command  of  what  was  styled  the  "  army 
of  England."  Of  course  great  preparations 
had  to  be  made  in  this  country  to  meet  the 
invading  foe.  The  British  Lion  was  awakened, 
and  although  not  easUy  alarmed  or  stirred  up, 
he  uttered  a  few  deep-toned  growls,  which 
showed  pretty  clearly  what  the  Frenchmen 
might  expect  if  they  should  venture  to  cross 
the  Channel.  From  John  o'  Groats  to  the 
Land's  End  the  people  rose  in  arms,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks  150,000  volunteers  were 
embodied  and  their  training  begun. 

Not  satisfied  with  threatening  invasion,  the 


34  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

Directory  of  France  sought  by  every  means  to 
corrupt  the  Irish.  They  sent  emissaries  into 
the  land,  and  succeeded  so  well  that  in  May 
1798  the  rebellion  broke  out.  Troops,  supplies, 
and  munitions  of  war  were  poured  into  Ireland 
by  France ;  but  the  troops  were  conquered  and 
the  rebellion  crushed. 

Finding  at  length  that  the  invasion  of 
England  could  not  be  carried  out,  this  pet  pro- 
ject was  abandoned,  and  Napoleon  advised  the 
Directory  to  endeavour  to  cripple  her  resources 
in  the  East.  For  the  accomplishment  of  this 
purpose,  he  recommended  the  establishment 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  of  a  French  colony, 
which,  besides  ojiening  a  channel  for  French 
commerce  with  Africa,  Arabia,  and  Syria,  might 
form  a  grand  military  depot,  whence  an  army 
of  60,000  men  could  be  pushed  forward  to  the 
Indus,  rouse  the  Mahrattas  to  a  revolt,  and 
excite  against  the  British  the  whole  population 
of  those  vast  countries. 

To  an  expedition  on  so  grand  a  scale  the 
Directory  objected  at  first,  but  the  master-spirit 
who  advised  them  was  beginning  to  feel  and 
exert  that  power  which  ultimately  carried  him 
to  the  throne  of  the  Empire.  He  overcame 
their  objections,  and  the  expedition  to  Egypt 
was  agreed  to. 

With  characteristic  energy  and  promptitude 
Napoleon  began  to  carry  out  his  plans,  and 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE,      35 

Great  Britain,  seeing  the  storm  that  was  brewing, 
commenced  with  equal  energy  to  thwart  him. 
Accordingly,  the  great  Sir  Horatio  Nelson,  at 
that  time  rear-admiral,  was  employed  with  a 
squadron  to  watch  the  movements  and  prepara- 
tions of  the  French  in  the  Mediterranean. 

Such  was  the  state  of  matters  when  our 
hero,  Bill  Bowls,  was  conveyed  on  board  the 
JFaterwitch,  a  seventy-four  gun  frigate,  and  set 
to  work  at  once  to  learn  his  duty. 

Bill  was  a  sensible  fellow.  He  knew  that 
escape  from  the  service,  except  in  a  dishonour- 
able manner,  was  impossible,  so  he  made  up 
his  mind  to  do  his  duty  like  a  man,  and  return 
home  at  the  end  of  the  war  (which  he  hoped 
would  be  a  short  one),  and  marry  Nelly  Blyth. 
Poor  fellow,  he  Kttle  imagined  what  he  had  to 
go  through  before — but  hold,  we  must  not 
anticipate  the  story. 

"Well,  it  so  happened  that  BiU  was  placed  in 
the  same  mess  with  the  man  whose  nose  he 
had  treated  so  unceremoniously  on  the  day  of 
his  capture.  He  was  annoyed  at  this,  but  the 
first  time  he  chanced  to  be  alone  with  him,  he 
changed  his  mind,  and  the  two  became  fast 
friends.     It  happened  thus  : — 

They  were  standing  on  the  weather-side  of 
the  forecastle  in  the  evening,  looking  over  the 
side  at  the  setting  sun. 

"You   don't   appear   to   be    easy   in   your 


36 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


mind,"  observed  Ben  Bolter,  after  a  prolonged 
silence. 

"  You  wouldn't  be  if  you  had  left  a  bride 
behind  you,"  answered  Bill  shortly. 

"  How  d'  ye  know  that  ?"  said  Ben ;  "  p'r'aps 
I  have  left  one  behind  me.  Anyhow,  I  Ve  left 
an  old  mother," 

"  That 's  nothin'  uncommon,"  replied  Bill ; 
"a  bride  may  change  her  mind  and  become 
another  man's  wife,  but  your  mother  can't 
become  your  aunt  or  your  sister  by  any  mental 
operation  that  I  knows  of." 

"  I  'm  not  so  sure  o'  that,  now,"  replied  Ben, 
knitting  his  brows,  and  gazing  earnestly  at  the 
forebrace,  which  happened  to  be  conveniently 
in  front  of  his  eyes ;  "  see  here,  s'pose,  for  the 
sake  of  argiment,  that  you  've  got  a  mother, 
an'  she  marries  a  second  time — which  some 
mothers  is  apt  to  do,  you  know, — and  her  noo 
husband  has  got  a  pretty  niece.  Nothin'  more 
nat'ral  than  that  you  should  fall  in  love  with 
her  and  get  spliced.  Well,  wot  then?  why, 
your  mother  is  her  aunt  by  vartue  of  her 
marriage  with  her  uncle,  and  so  your  mother  is 
your  aunt  in  consikence  of  your  marriage  with 
the  niece — d'ye  seef 

Bill  laughed,  and  said  he  didn't  quite  see  it, 
but  he  was  willing  to  take  it  on  credit,  as  he 
was  not  in  a  humour  for  discussion  just  then. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Ben,  "  but,  to  return  to 


Hm.i.  and  Bkn  BKroMPL  Friknds. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE, 


37 


the  pint — which  is,  if  I  may  so  say,  a  pint  of 
distinkshun  between  topers  an'  argifiers,  for 
topers  are  always  retumin'  to  the  pint,  an' 
argifiers  are  for  ever  departin'  from  it — to  re- 
turn to  it,  I  say :  you  've  no  notion  of  the 
pecoolier  sirkumstances  in  which  I  left  my  poor 
old  mother.  It  weighs  heavy  on  my  heart, 
I  assure  ye,  for  it 's  only  three  months  since 
I  was  pressed  myself,  an'  the  feelin's  ain't  had 
time  to  heal  yet.  Come,  I'll  teU  ee  how  it 
was.  You  owe  me  some  compensation  for 
that  crack  on  the  nose  you  gave  me,  so  stand 
still  and  listen." 

Bill,  who  was  becoming  interested  in  his 
messmate  in  spite  of  himself,  smiled,  and  nodded 
his  head  as  though  to  say,  "  Go  on." 

"Well,  you  must  know  my  old  mother  is 
just  turned  eighty,  an'  I'm  thirty-six,  so,  as 
them  that  knows  the  rule  o'  three  would  tell 
ye,  she  was  just  forty-four  when  I  began  to 
trouble  her  life.  I  was  a  most  awful  wicked 
child,  it  seems.  So  they  say  at  least ;  but  I  've 
no  remembrance  of  it  myself.  Hows'ever,  when 
I  growed  up  and  ran  away  to  sea  and  got  back 
again  an'  repented — mainly  because  I  didn't 
Like  the  sea — I  tuk  to  mendin'  my  ways  a  bit, 
an'  tried  to  make  up  to  the  old  ooman  for  my 
prewious  wickedness.  I  do  believe  I  succeeded, 
too,  for  I  got  to  like  her  in  a  way  I  never  did 
before ;  and  when  I  used  to  come  home  from 

2c 


38  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

a  cruise — for,  of  course,  I  soon  went  to  sea  again 
— I  always  had  somethin'  for  her  from  furrin' 
parts.  An'  she  was  greatly  pleased  at  my 
attentions  an'  presents — all  except  once,  when 
I  brought  her  the  head  of  a  mummy  from 
Egypt.  She  couldn't  stand  that  at  all — to  my 
great  disappointment ;  an'  what  made  it  wuss 
was,  that  after  a  few  days  they  had  put  it  too 
near  the  fire,  an'  the  skin  it  busted  an'  the 
stuffin'  began  to  come  out,  so  I  took  it  out  to 
the  back  garden  an'  gave  it  decent  burial 
behind  the  pump. 

*'  Hows'ever,  as  I  wos  goin'  to  say,  just  at 
the  time  I  was  nabbed  by  the  press-gang  was 
my  mother's  birth-day,  an'  as  I  happened  to  be 
flush  o'  cash,  I  thought  I  'd  give  her  a  treat  an' 
a  surprise,  so  off  I  goes  to  buy  her  some  things, 
when,  before  I  got  well  into  the  town — a  sea- 
port it  was — down  comed  the  press-gang  an' 
nabbed  me.  I  showed  fight,  of  course,  just  as 
you  did,  an'  floored  four  of  'em,  but  they  was 
too  many  for  me,  an'  before  I  knowed  where  I 
was  they  had  me  into  a  boat  and  aboord  this 
here  ship,  where  I've  bin  ever  since.  I'm 
used  to  it  now,  an'  rather  like  it,  as  no  doubt 
you  will  come  for  to  like  it  too ;  but  it  teas 
hard  on  my  old  mother.  I  begged  an'  prayed 
them  to  let  me  go  back  an'  bid  her  good-bye, 
an'  swore  I  would  return,  but  they  only  laughed 
at  me,  so  I  was  obliged  to  write  her  a  letter  to 


TILE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.  39 

keep  her  mind  easy.  Of  all  the  jobs  I  ever 
did  have,  the  writin'  of  that  letter  was  the 
wust.  Nothin'  but  dooty  would  iver  indooce 
me  to  try  it  again ;  for,  you  see,  I  didn't  get 
much  in  the  way  of  edication,  an'  writin'  never 
came  handy  to  me, 

"  Hows'ever,"  continued  Ben,  "  I  took  so 
kindly  to  His  Majesty's  service  that  they  almost 
look  upon  me  as  an  old  hand,  an*  actooally 
gave  me  leave  to  be  the  leader  o'  the  gang 
that  was  sent  to  Fairway  to  take  you,  so  that 
I  might  have  a  chance  o'  sayin'  adoo  to  my 
old  mother." 

"  What  ! "  exclaimed  Bowls,  "  is  your 
mother  the  old  woman  who  stops  at  the  end 
o'  Cow  Lane,  where  Mrs.  Blyth  lives,  who  talks 
so  much  about  her  big- whiskered  Ben?" 

"  That  same,"  replied  Ben,  with  a  smile ; 
"  she  was  always  proud  o'  me,  specially  after 
my  whiskers  corned.  I  thought  that  p'r'aps  ye 
might  have  knowed  her." 

"  I  knows  her  by  hearsay  from  Nelly  Blyth, 
but  not  bein'  a  native  of  Fairway,  of  course  I 
don't  know  much  about  the  people. — Hallo ! 
Riggles,  what 's  wrong  with  ee  to-day  f  said 
Bill,  as  his  friend  Tom  came  towards  him  with 
a  very  perplexed  expression  on  his  honest  face, 
"not  repenting  of  havin'  joined  the  sarvice 
already,  I  hope'?" 

*'  No,  I  ain't  troubled  about  that,"  answered 


40 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


Riggles,  scratching  his  chin  and  knitting  his 
brows ;  "  but  I  've  got  a  brother,  d'  ye  see — " 

"Nothin'  uncommon  in  that,"  said  Bolter, 
as  the  other  paused. 

"Fr'aps  not,"  continued  Tom  Eiggles;  "but 
then,  you  see,  my  brother 's  such  a  preeplexin' 
sort  o'  feller,  I  don't  know  wot  to  make  of 
him." 

"Let  him  alone,  then,"  suggested  Ben 
Bolter. 

"That  won't  do  neither,  for  he's  got  into 
trouble ;  but  it 's  a  long  story,  an'  I  dessay  you 
won't  care  to  hear  about  it." 

"  You  're  out  there,  Tom,"  said  Bowls ;  "come, 
sit  down  here  and  let 's  have  it  all." 

The  three  men  sat  down  on  the  combings 
of  the  fore-hatch,  and  Tom  Riggles  began  by 
telling  them  that  it  was  of  no  use  bothering 
them  with  an  account  of  his  brother  Sam's 
early  life. 

"Not  unless  there's  somethin'  partikler 
about  it,"  said  Bolter. 

"Well,  there  ain't  nothin'  very  partikler 
about  it,  'xcept  that  Sam  was  partiklerly  noisy 
as  a  baby,  and  wild  as  a  boy,  besides  bein' 
uncommon  partikler  about  his  wittles,  'speci- 
ally in  the  matter  o'  havin'  plenty  of  'em. 
Moreover,  he  ran  away  to  sea  when  he  was 
twelve  years  old,  an'  was  partiklerly  quiet  after 
that  for  a  long  time,  for  nobody  know'd  where 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


41 


he  'd  gone  to,  till  one  fine  mornin'  my  mother 
she  gets  a  letter  from  him  sayin'  he  was  in 
China,  drivin'  a  great  trade  in  the  opium  line. 
We  niver  felt  quite  sure  about  that,  for  Sam 
worn't  over  partikler  about  truth.  He  was  a 
kindly  sort  o'  feller,  hows' ever,  an'  continued 
to  write  once  or  twice  a  year  for  a  long  time. 
In  these  letters  he  said  that  his  life  was  pretty 
wariable,  as  no  doubt  it  was,  for  he  wrote 
from  all  parts  o'  the  world.  First,  he  was 
clerk,  he  said,  to  the  British  counsel  in 
Penang,  or  some  sich  name,  though  where  that 
is  I  don't  know ;  then  he  told  us  he  'd  joined 
a  man-o'-war,  an'  took  to  clearin'  the  pirates 
out  o'  the  China  seas.  He  found  it  a  tough 
job  appariently,  an'  got  wounded  in  the  head 
with  a  grape-shot,  and  half  choked  by  a  stink- 
pot, after  which  we  heard  no  more  of  him  for 
a  long  time,  when  a  letter  turns  up  from  Cali- 
forny,  sayin'  he  was  there  shippin'  hides  on 
the  coast;  and  after  that  he  went  through 
Texas  an'  the  States,  where  he  got  married, 
though  he  hadn't  nothin'  wotever,  as  I  knows 
of,  to  keep  a  wife  upon — " 

"  But  he  may  have  had  somethin'  for  all  you 
didn't  know  it,"  suggested  Bill  Bowls. 

"  Well,  p'r'aps  he  had.  Hows'ever,  the  next 
we  heard  was  that  he'd  gone  to  Canada,  an' 
tuk  a  small  farm  there,  which  was  all  well 
enough,  but  now  we  've  £:ot  a  letter  from  him 


42     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE, 

sayin'  that  he's  in  trouble,  an'  don't  see  his 
way  out  of  it  very  clear.  He 's  got  the  fann, 
a  wife  an'  a  sarvant  to  support,  an'  nothiu'  to 
do  it  with.  Moreover,  the  sarvant  is  a  boy 
what  a  gentleman  took  from  a  Eeformation- 
house,  or  somethin'  o'  that  sort,  where  they 
put  little  thieves  as  has  only  bin  in  quod  for 
the  fust  time.  They  say  that  many  of  'em  is 
saved,  and  turns  out  well,  but  this  feller  don't 
seem  to  have  bin  a  crack  specimen,  for  Sam's 
remarks  about  him  ain't  complimentary.  Here's 
the  letter,  mates,"  continued  Eiggles,  drawing 
a  soiled  epistle  from  his  pocket;  "it'll  give  ee 
a  better  notion  than  I  can  wot  sort  of  a  fix 
he 's  in.     Will  you  read  it.  Bill  Bowls  1" 

"  No,  thankee,"  said  Bill ;  "  read  it  yerself, 
an'  for  any  sake  don't  spell  the  words  if  ye  can 
help  it." 

Thus  admonished  Tom  began  to  read  the 
following  letter  from  his  wild  brother,  inter- 
rupting himself  occasionally  to  explain  and 
comment  thereon,  and  sometimes,  despite  the 
adjuration  of  Bill  Bowls,  to  spell.  We  give 
the  letter  in  the  writer's  own  words  : — 

" '  My  dear  mother  [it 's  to  mother,  d'  ye 
see ;  he  always  writes  to  her,  an'  she  sends 
the  letters  to  me.] — My  dear  mother,  here 
we  are  all  alive  and  kicking.  My  sweet 
wife  is  Avorth  her  weight  in  gold,  though  she 
does  not  possess  more  of  that  precious  metal 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


43 


than  the  wedding-ring  on  her  finger — more 's 
the  pity,  for  we  are  sadly  in  want  of  it  just 
now.  The  baby,  too,  is  splendid.  Fat  as  a 
prize  pig,  capable  of  roaring  like  a  mad  bull, 
and,  it  is  said,  uncommonly  like  his  father. 
We  all  send  our  kind  love  to  you,  and  father, 
and  Tom.  By  the  way,  where  is  Tom  1  You 
did  not  mention  him  in  your  last.  I  fear  he 
is  one  of  these  roving  fellows  whom  the  Scotch 
very  appropriately  style  ne'er-do-weels.  A  bad 
lot  they  are.  [Humph !  you  're  one  of  'em, 
Mister  Sara,  if  ever  there  was,  an'  my  only 
hope  of  ye  is  that  you  've  got  some  soft  places 
in  your  heart.] ' " 

"  Go  on,  Tom,"  said  Ben  Bolter ;  "  don't  cut 
in  like  that  on  the  thread  of  any  man's  story." 

"Well,"  continued  Kiggles,  reading  with 
great  difficulty,  "  Sam  goes  on  for  to  say — " 

"'We  thank  you  for  your  good  wishes,  and 
trust  to  be  able  to  send  you  a  good  account  of 
our  proceedings  ere  long.  [You  see  Sam  was 
always  of  a  cheery,  hopeful  natur,  he  was.] 
We  have  now  been  on  the  place  fifteen  days, 
but  have  not  yet  begun  the  house,  as  we  can 
get  no  money.  Two  builders  have,  however, 
got  the  plans,  and  we  are  Avaiting  for  their 
[sp — s-p-i-f-  oh !  spiflication ;  why,  wot  can 
that  be]].'" 

"It  ain't  spiflication,  anyhow,"  said  Bolter. 
"  Spell  it  right  through." 


44     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

"  Oh !  I 've  got  him,  it 's  specification"  cried 
Higgles;    "well—" 

'" — specification.  Many  things  wiU  cost  more 
than  we  anticipated.  We  had  to  turn  the 
family  out  who  had  squatted  here,  at  two  days' 
notice,  as  we  could  not  afford  to  live  at  Kin- 
monday  [that's  the  nearest  town,  I  s'pose]. 
How  they  managed  to  live  in  the  log  cabin  I 
do  not  know,  as,  when  it  rained — and  it  has 
done  so  twice  since  we  came,  furiously — the 
whole  place  was  deluged,  and  we  had  to  put 
an  umbrella  up  in  bed.  We  have  had  the  roof 
raised  and  newly  shingled,  and  are  as  comfort- 
able as  can  be  expected.  Indeed,  the  hut  is 
admirably  adapted  for  summer  weather,  as  we 
can  shake  hands  between  the  logs. 

"'The  weather  is  very  hot,  although  there 
has  been  much  more  rain  this  season  than 
usual.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  a 
splendid  country,  both  as  regards  soil  and 
climate,  and  it  seems  a  pity  to  see  such  land 
lying  waste  and  unimproved  for  so  many  years. 
It  far  surpasses  my  expectations,  both  in  natural 
beauty  and  capabilities.  We  have  a  deal  of 
work  to  do  in  the  way  of  fencing,  for  at  pre- 
sent everybody's  live  stock  is  running  over  a 
large  part  of  our  land;  but  we  haven't  got  money 
to  buy  fencing  !  Then  we  ought  to  have  two 
horses,  for  the  boy  that  was  sent  to  me  from 
the  Reformatory  can  plough  ;   but  again,  we 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.  45 

haven't  a  rap  wherewith  to  buy  them.  One 
reason  of  this  is  that  in  a  new  place  a  fellow  is 
not  trusted  at  first,  and  the  lasfe  two  hundred 
dollars  we  had  went  in  tools,  household  furni- 
ture, utensils,  etc.  We  have  been  living  on 
credit  for  an  occasional  chicken  or  duck  from 
our  neighbours,  which  makes  but  a  poor  meal 
for  three — not  to  mention  baby,  being  very 
small — and  George,  that's  the  boy,  having  a 
tremendous  appetite  ! 

" '  I  walked  into  town  twice  to  try  to  get  some 
meat,  but  although  there  are  ostensibly  two 
butchers,  I  failed  to  get  any.  They  actually 
wanted  payment  for  it !  Heigho  !  how  I  wish 
that  money  grew  on  the  trees — or  bread.  By 
the  way,  that  reminds  me  that  there  are  bread- 
fruit trees  in  the  South  Sea  Islands.  I  think 
I  '11  sell  the  farm  and  go  there.  One  day  I  had 
the  good  luck  to  rescue  a  fine  young  chicken 
from  the  talons  of  a  big  hawk,  upon  which  we 
all  made  a  good  meal.  I  really  don't  know 
what  we  should  have  done  had  it  not  been 
for  the  great  abundance  of  blackberries  here. 
They  are  fine  and  large,  and  so  plentiful  that  I 
can  gather  a  bucketful  in  an  hour.  We  have 
made  them  into  jam  and  pies,  and  are  now 
drying  them  for  winter  use.  We  have  also 
hazel-nuts  and  plums  by  the  cart-load,  and 
crab-apples  in  numbers  almost  beyond  the 
power  of  figures  to  express.     There  is  also  a 


46     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

fruit  about  the  size  of  a  lime,  which  they  call 
here  the  '  May  apple,'  but  which  I  have  named 
'  omnifruct,'  as  it  combines  the  flavour  of 
apples,  pears,  peaches,  pine-apples,  gooseberries, 
strawberries,  rasps — in  fact,  it  is  hard  to  tell 
what  it  does  not  resemble.  But  after  all,  this 
is  rather  light  food,  and  although  very  Eden- 
like living — minus  the  felicity — it  does  not 
quite  satisfy  people  who  have  been  used  most 
part  of  their  lives  to  beefsteaks  and  stout. 

'"George  came  to  me  a  week  ago.  The 
little  rascal  would  have  been  here  sooner,  but 
first  of  all  the  stage-coach  upset,  and  then  he 
fell  asleep  and  was  carried  ten  miles  beyond 
our  clearing,  and  had  to  walk  back  as  best  he 
could  with  a  big  bundle  on  his  shoulder.  Ho 
is  an  uncommonly  silent  individual.  We  can 
hardly  get  him  to  utter  a  word.  He  does 
what  he  is  told,  but  I  have  first  to  show  him 
how,  and  generally  end  by  doing  it  myself. 
He  appears  to  be  a  remarkably  dead  boy,  but 
my  excellent  wife  has  taken  him  in  hand,  and 
will  certainly  strike  some  fire  out  of  him  if  she 
can't  put  it  into  him  !  She  has  just  gone  into 
town  on  a  foraging  expedition,  and  I  fondly 
hope  she  may  succeed  in  making  a  raise  of 
some  edibles. 

*"  I  have  distinguished  myself  lately  by 
manufacturing  a  sideboard  and  dresser,  as  well 
as  a  table  and  bench  for  the  female  authority, 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.  47 

and  expect  to  accomplish  a  henhouse  and  a 
gate  next  week.  You  see  we  work  in  hope. 
I  fervently  wish  we  could  Hve  on  the  same. 
However,  I'm  pretty  jolly,  despite  a  severe 
attack  of  rheumatism,  which  has  not  been  im- 
proved by  my  getting  up  in  the  night  and 
rushing  out  in  my  shirt  to  chase  away  trespass- 
ing cows  and  pigs,  as  we  have  not  got  a  Avatch- 
dog  yet. 

"'When  my  wife  shuts  her  eyes  at  night 
her  dreams  are  of  one  invariable  subject — 
blackberries  !  She  cannot  get  rid  of  the  im- 
pression, and  I  have  serious  fears  that  we  shall 
all  break  out  in  brambles.  There  are  not  so 
many  mosquitoes  here  as  I  had  expected  ;  just 
enough  to  keep  us  lively.  How  I  shall  rejoice 
when  we  have  got  a  cow  !  It  wiU  be  a  great 
saving  in  butter  and  milk  to  our  neighbours, 
who  at  present  supply  us  with  such  things  on 
credit !  We  can  raise  here  wheat,  oats,  Indian 
com,  etc.  The  only  difficulties  are  the  want 
of  seed  and  money  !  But  it  is  unkind  in  me 
writing  to  you,  mother,  in  this  strain,  seeing 
that  you  can't  help  me  in  my  difficulties. 
However,  don't  take  on  about  me.  My  motto 
is,  *  Never  give  in.'  Give  our  love  to  father, 
also  to  Tom.  He 's  a  good-hearted  fellow  is 
Tom,  though  I  fear  he'll  never  come  to  much 
good. — Believe  me,  your  affectionate  son, 

Sam.  Kiggles.'" 


48     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

"  There,"  said  Tom,  folding  up  the  letter ; 
"  what  d'  ye  think  o'  that,  mates  V 

Tom  did.  not  at  that  time  get  an  answer  to 
his  question,  for  just  as  he  spoke  the  order  was 
given  to  beat  to  quarters  for  exercise,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  the  decks  were  cleared,  and  every 
man  at  his  post. 

But  the  order  which  had  been  given  to  en- 
gage in  mimic  warfare,  for  the  sake  of  training 
the  new  hands,  was  suddenly  changed  into  the 
command  to  clear  for  action  in  earnest,  when 
the  look-out  reported  a  French  vessel  on  the 
weather-bow.  Sail  was  immediately  crowded 
on  the  Waterwitch,  and  all  was  enthusiasm  and 
expectation  as  they  gave  chase  to  the  enemy. 


i 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     49 


CHAPTEE  IV. 


OUR  HERO  AND  HIS  FRIENDS  SEE  SERVICE. 

rpHE  Waterwitch  was  commanded  at  this  time 
J-  by  Captain  Ward,  a  man  possessed  of 
great  energy  and  judgment,  united  to  heroic 
courage.  He  had  received  orders  to  join 
that  portion  of  the  British  fleet  which,  under 
Nelson,  was  engaged  in  searching  for  the 
French  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  had  passed 
Cape  St.  Vincent  on  his  way  thither,  when 
he  fell  in  with  the  French  vessel. 

During  the  morning  a  thick  fog  had  obscured 
the  horizon,  concealing  the  enemy  from  view. 
When  the  rising  sun  dispersed  it  he  was  sud- 
denly revealed.  Hence  the  abrupt  order  on 
board  the  Waterwitch  to  prepare  for  action. 
As  the  fog  lifted  still  more,  another  French 
vessel  was  revealed,  and  it  was  soon  found  that 
the  English  frigate  had  two  Frenchmen  of 
forty-four  guns  each  to  cope  with. 

"  Just  as  it  should  be !  "  remarked  Captain 
Ward,   when  this  was  ascertained.      "  There 


50 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE, 


would  have  been  no  glory  in  conquering  one 
Frenchman  equal  to  my  own  ship  in  size ! " 

The  Waterwitch  was  immediately  steered  to- 
wards the  ship  that  was  nearest,  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  she  would  show  fight  at  once,  but  the 
French  commander,  probably  wishing  to  delay 
the  engagement  until  his  other  vessel  could 
join  him,  made  sail,  and  bore  down  on  her. 
Captain  Ward,  on  perceiving  the  intention,  put 
on  a  press  of  canvas,  and  endeavoured  to  frus- 
trate the  enemy's  design.  In  this  he  was  only 
partially  successful, 

"  Surely,"  said  Bill  Bowls  to  his  friend  Ben 
Bolter,  with  whom  he  was  stationed  at  one  of 
the  starboard  guns  on  the  main  deck,  "  surely 
we  are  near  enough  now  to  give  'em  a 
shot." 

"  No  we  ain't,"  said  Tom  Eiggles,  who  was 
also  stationed  at  the  same  gun ;  "  an'  depend  on 
it  Cap'n  Ward  is  not  the  man  to  throw  away 
his  shot  for  nothin'." 

Ben  Bolter  and  some  of  the  other  men  at 
the  gun  agreed  with  this  opinion,  so  our  hero, 
Avhose  fighting  propensities  were  beginning  to 
rouse  up,  had  to  content  himself  with  gazing 
through  the  porthole  at  the  flying  enemy,  and 
restrained  his  impatience  as  he  best  could. 

At  last  the  order  was  given  to  fire,  and  for 
an  hour  after  that  a  running  fight  was  main- 
tained, but  without  much  effect.     When,  how- 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


51 


ever,  the  two  ships  of  the  enemy  succeeded  in 
drawing  sufficiently  near  to  each  other,  they 
hove  to,  and  awaited  the  advance  of  the  JVater- 
witch,  plying  her  vigorously  with  shot  as  she 
came  on. 

Captain  Ward  only  replied  with  his  bow 
chasers  at  first.  He  walked  the  deck  with  his 
hands  behind  his  back  without  speaking,  and, 
as  far  as  his  countenance  expressed  his  feelings, 
he  might  have  been  waiting  for  a  summons  to 
dinner,  instead  of  hastening  to  engage  in  an 
unequal  contest. 

"  Cap'n  Ward  niver  growls  much  before  he 
bites,"  said  Patrick  Flinn,  an  Irishman,  who 
belonged  to  Bowls's  mess.  "  He  minds  me  of 
a  spalpeen  of  a  dog  I  wance  had,  as  was  un- 
common fond  o'  fightin',  but  niver  even  showed 
his  teeth  till  he  was  within  half  a  yard  of  his 
inemy,  but,  och !  he  gripped  him  then  an'  no 
mistake.  You  '11  see,  messmates,  that  we  won't 
give  'em  a  broadside  till  we're  within  half 
pistol-shot." 

"  Don't  take  on  ye  the  dooties  of  a  prophet, 
Paddy,"  said  Ben  Bolter,  "  for  the  last  time  ye 
tried  it  ye  was  wrong." 

"When  was  that?"  demanded  Flinn. 

^  "  Why,  no  longer  ago  than  supper- time  last 

night,  when  ye  said  ye  had  eaten  such  a  lot 

that  ye  wouldn't  be  able  to  taste  another  bite 

for  a  month  to  come,  an'  didn't  I  see  ye  pitchin' 


52 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


into  the  wittles  this  morniu'  as  if  ye  had  bin 
starvin'  for  a  week  past  V 

"  Git  along  wid  ye,"  retorted  Flinn  ;  "  yer 
jokes  is  as  heavy  as  yerself,  an'  worth  about  as 
much." 

"An'  how  much  may  that  be?"  asked  Ben, 
with  a  grin. 

"  Faix,  it 's  not  aisy  to  tell.  I  would  need 
to  work  it  out  in  a  algibrabical  calkilation,  but 
if  ye  divide  the  half  o'  what  ye  know  by  the 
double  o'  what  ye  don't  know,  an'  add  the 
quarter  o'  what  ye  might  have  know'd — re- 
doocin'  the  whole  to  nothin',  by  means  of  a 
compound  o'  the  rule  o'  three  and  sharp  prac- 
tice, p'r'aps  you  '11 — " 

Flinn's  calculation  was  cut  short  at  that 
moment  by  the  entrance  of  a  round  shot,  which 
pierced  the  ship's  side  just  above  his  head,  and 
sent  sphnters  flying  in  all  directions,  one  of 
which  killed  a  man  at  the  next  gun,  and  an 
other  struck  Bill  Bowls  on  the  left  arm,  wound- 
ing him  slightly. 

The  exclamations  and  comments  of  the 
men  at  the  gun  were  stopped  abruptly  by  the 
orders  to  let  the  ship  fall  off  and  fire  a  broad- 
side. 

The  Waterwitch  trembled  under  the  dis- 
charge, and  then  a  loud  cheer  arose,  for  the 
immediate  result  was  that  the  vessel  of  the 
enemy  which  had  hit  them  was  partially  dis- 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


53 


abled — her  foretopmast  and  flying  jibboom 
having  been  shot  away. 

The  JVaterwitch  instantly  resumed  her  course, 
and  while  Bill  Bowls  was  busily  employed  in 
assisting  to  reload  his  gun,  he  could  see  that 
the  two  Frenchmen  were  close  on  their  lee  bow. 

Passing  to  windward  of  the  two  frigates, 
which  were  named  respectively  La  Gloire  and 
the  St.  Denis,  Captain  Ward  received  a  broad- 
side from  the  latter,  without  replying  to  it, 
until  he  had  crossed  her  bow  within  musket 
range,  when  he  delivered  a  broadside  which 
raked  her  from  stem  to  stern.  He  then  wore 
ship,  and,  passing  between  the  two,  fired  his 
starboard  broadside  into  the  Gloire,  and  almost 
immediately  after  his  port  broadside  into  the 
St.  Denis. 

The  effect  on  the  two  ships  was  tremendous. 

Their  sails  and  rigging  were  terribly  cut  up, 
and  several  of  the  yards  came  rattling  down  on 
their  decks.  The  Gloire,  in  particular,  had  her 
rudder  damaged.  Seeing  this,  and  knowing 
that  in  her  crippled  state  she  could  do  him  no 
further  damage.  Captain  Ward  passed  on, 
sailed  round  the  stern  of  the  St.  Denis,  and, 
when  within  six  yards  of  her,  sent  a  broadside 
right  in  at  her  cabin  windows.  Then  he 
ranged  alongside  and  kept  up  a  tremendous  fire. 

The  Frenchmen  stuck  to  their  guns  admir- 
ably, but  the  British  fired  quicker.     At  such 

2d 


54     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

close  quarters  every  shot  told  on  both  sides. 
The  din  and  crash  of  such  heavy  artillery  was 
terrific ;  and  it  soon  became  almost  impossible 
to  see  what  was  going  on  for  the  smoke. 

Up  to  this  point,  although  many  of  the  men 
in  the  Waterwitch  had  been  killed  or  wounded, 
only  one  of  those  who  manned  the  gun  at 
which  Bill  Bowls  served  had  been  hit. 

"  It 's  too  hot  to  last  long,"  observed  Flinn, 
as  he  thrust  home  a  ball  and  drew  out  the 
ramrod  ;  "  run  her  out,  boys." 

The  men  obeyed,  and  were  in  the  act  of 
pulling  at  the  tackle,  when  a  shot  from  the 
enemy  struck  the  gun  on  the  muzzle,  tore  it 
from  its  fastenings,  and  hurled  it  to  the  other 
side  of  the  deck. 

Strange  to  say,  only  one  of  the  men  who 
worked  it  was  hurt  by  the  gun;  but  in  its 
passage  across  the  deck  it  knocked  down  and 
killed  three  men,  and  jammed  one  of  the  guns 
on  the  other  side  in  such  a  way  that  it  became 
for  a  time  unserviceable.  Ben  Bolter  and 
his  comrades  were  making  desperate  efforts  to 
clear  the  wreck,  when  they  heard  a  shout  on 
deck  for  the  boarders.  The  bowsprit  of  the 
Waterwitch  had  by  that  time  been  shot  away ; 
her  rigging  was  dreadfully  cut  up,  and  her 
wheel  smashed ;  and  Captain  Ward  felt  that, 
if  the  St.  Denis  were  to  get  away,  he  could  not 
pursue  her.     He  therefore  resolved  to  board. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE.     55 

"  Come  along,  lads,"  cried  Tom  Higgles,  on 
nearing  the  order ;  "  let 's  jine  'em." 

He  seized  his  cutlass  as  he  spoke,  and 
dashed  towards  the  ladder,  followed  by  Bowls, 
Bolter,  Flinn,  and  others ;  but  it  was  so 
crowded  with  men  carrying  the  wounded  down 
to  the  cockpit  that  they  had  to  pause  at  the  foot. 

At  that  moment  a  handsome  young  midship- 
man was  carried  past,  apparently  badly  wounded. 

"Och  !"  exclaimed  Flinn,  in  a  tone  of  deep 
anxiety,  "  it 's  not  Mister  Cleveland,  is  it  ]  Ah ! 
don't  say  he's  kilt!" 

"Not  quite,"  answered  the  midshipman, 
rousing  himself,  and  looking  round  with  flash- 
ing eyes  as  he  endeavoured  to  wave  his  hand 
in  the  air.     "  I  '11  live  to  fight  the  French  yet." 

The  poor  boy  almost  fainted  from  loss  of 
blood  as  he  spoke  ;  and  the  Irishman,  uttering 
a  wild  shout,  ran  towards  the  stern,  intending 
to  gain  the  deck  by  the  companion-hatch,  and 
wreak  his  vengeance  on  the  French.  Bill 
Bowls  and  Ben  Bolter  followed  him.  As  they 
passed  the  cabin  door  Bowls  said  hastily  to 
Bolter,  "  I  say,  Ben,  here,  follow  me  ;  I  '11  show 
ye  a  dodge." 

He  ran  into  the  cabin  as  he  spoke  and 
leaped  out  upon  the  quarter  gallery,  which  by 
that  time  was  so  close  to  the  quarter  of  the 
St.  Denis  that  it  was  possible  to  jump  from  one 
to  the  other. 


56     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation  he  sprang 
across,  dashed  in  one  of  the  windows,  and 
went  head  foremost  into  the  enemy's  cabin, 
followed  by  Bolter.  Finding  no  one  to  oppose 
them  there,  they  rushed  upon  deck  and  into 
the  midst  of  a  body  of  marines  who  were  near 
the  after-hatchway. 

"Down  with  the  frog-eaters!"  cried  Ben 
Bolter,  discharging  his  pistol  in  the  face  of  a 
marine  with  one  hand,  and  cleaving  down  an- 
other with  his  cutlass. 

The  "frog-eaters,"  however,  were  by  no 
means  despicable  men  ;  for  one  of  them  clubbed 
his  musket  and  therewith  hit  Ben  such  a  blow 
on  the  head  that  he  fell  flat  on  the  deck.  See- 
ing this,  Bill  Bowls  bestrode  his  prostrate  com- 
rade, and  defended  him  for  a  few  seconds  with 
the  utmost  fury. 

Captain  Ward,  who  had  leaped  into  the  miz 
zen  chains  of  the  enemy,  leading  the  boarders, 
beheld  with  amazement  two  of  his  own  men  on 
the  quarter-deck  of  the  St.  Denis  attacking  the 
enemy  in  rear.  Almost  at  the  same  moment  he 
observed  the  fall  of  one  of  them.  His  men  also 
saw  this,  and  giving  an  enthusiastic  cheer  they 
sprang  upon  the  foe  and  beat  them  back.  Bill 
Bowls  was  borne  down  in  the  rush  by  his  friends, 
but  he  quickly  regained  his  legs.  Ben  Bolter 
also  recovered  and  jumped  up.  In  five  minutes 
more  they  were  masters  of  the  ship — hauled 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


down  the  colours,  and  hoisted  the  Union  Jack 
at  the  Frenchman's  peak. 

During  the  whole  course  of  this  action  the 
Gloire,  which  had  drifted  within  range,  kept  up 
a  galling  fire  of  musketry  from  her  tops  on  the 
deck  of  the  Waterwitch.  Just  as  the  St.  Denis 
was  captured,  a  ball  struck  Captain  Ward  on 
the  forehead,  and  he  fell  dead  without  a  groan. 

The  first  lieutenant,  who  was  standing  by  his 
side  at  the  moment,  after  hastily  calling  several 
men  to  convey  their  commander  below,  ordered 
the  starboard  guns  of  the  prize  to  be  fired  into 
the  Gloire.  This  was  done  with  such  effect 
that  it  was  not  found  necessary  to  repeat  the 
dose.  The  Frenchman  immediately  hauled 
down  his  colours,  and  the  fight  was  at  an 
end. 

It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  the  satisfaction 
with  which  this  victory  was  hailed  was  greatly 
modified  by  the  loss  of  brave  Captain  Ward, 
who  was  a  favourite  with  his  men,  and  one 
who  would  in  all  probability  have  risen  to 
the  highest  position  in  the  service,  had  he 
lived.  He  fell  while  his  sun  was  in  the  zenith, 
and  was  buried  in  the  ocean,  that  wide  and  in- 
satiable grave,  which  has  received  too  many  of 
our  brave  seamen  in  the  prime  of  life. 

The  first  lieutenant,  on  whom  the  command 
temporarily  devolved,  immediately  set  about 
repairing  damages,  and,  putting  a  prize  crew 


58     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE, 

into  each  of  the  French  ships,  sailed  with  them 
to  the  nearest  friendly  port. 

The  night  after  the  action  Bill  Bowls,  Ben 
Bolter,  and  Tom  Eiggles  sat  down  on  the  heel 
of  the  bowsprit  to  have  a  chat. 

"Not  badly  hit?"  ashed  Ben  of  Bill,  who 
was  examining  the  bandage  on  his  left  arm. 

"  Nothin'  to  speak  of,"  said  Bill ;  "  only  a 
scratch.  I'm  lucky  to  have  got  off  with  so 
little ;  but  I  say,  Ben,  how  does  your  head  feel  1 
That  Mounseer  had  a  handy  way  o'  usin'  the 
handspike.  I  do  believe  he  would  have  cracked 
any  man's  skull  but  your  own,  which  must  be 
as  thick  as  the  head  of  an  elephant.  I  see'd  it 
comin',  but  couldn't  help  ye.  Hows'ever,  I 
saved  ye  from  a  second  dose." 

"  It  wos  pritty  hardish,"  said  Ben,  with  a 
smile,  "  an'  made  the  stars  sparkle  in  my  brain 
for  all  the  world  like  the  rory  borailis,  as  I  've 
see'd  so  often  in  the  northern  skies ;  but  it 's 
all  in  the  way  o'  trade,  so  I  don't  grumble ; 
the  only  thing  as  bothers  me  is  that  I  can't 
git  my  hat  rightly  on  by  reason  of  the  bump." 

"  You  've  no  cause  to  complain — neither  of 
ye,"  said  Tom  Eiggles,  whose  left  hand  was 
tied  up  and  in  a  sling,  "  for  you  've  lost  nothin' 
but  a  little  blood  an'  a  bit  o'  skin,  whereas 
I  've  lost  the  small  finger  o'  my  right  hand." 

"ISot  much  to  boast  of  that,"  said  Ben 
Bolter  contemptuously ;  "  why,  just  think  of 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


59 


poor  Ned  Summers  havin'  lost  an  arm,  and 
Edwards  a  leg — not  to  mention  the  poor  fellows 
that  have  lost  their  lives." 

"  A  finger  is  bad  enough,"  growled  Tom. 

"  Well,  so  it  is,"  said  Bowls.  "  By  the  way, 
I  would  advise  you  to  try  a  little  of  that 
wonderful  salve  invented  by  a  Yankee  for  such 
cases." 

"  Wot  salve  wos  that  1"  asked  Tom  gruffly, 
for  the  pain  of  his  wound  was  evidently  pretty 
severe. 

"Why,  the  growin'  salve,  to  be  sure," 
replied  Bill.  "  Everybody  must  have  heard  of 
it." 

"  I  never  did,"  said  Tom.    "  Did  you,  Ben  V 

"  No,  never ;  wot  is  it  ]" 

*'  It 's  a  salve  for  growin'  on  lost  limbs," 
said  Bill.  "  The  Yankee  tried  it  on  a  dog  that 
had  got  its  tail  cut  off.  He  rubbed  a  little  of 
the  salve  on  the  end  of  the  dog,  and  a  noo  tail 
grow'd  on  next  mornin' ! " 

"  Gammon !"  ejaculated  Tom  Riggles. 

"  True,  I  assure  ye,  as  was  proved  by  the 
fact  that  he  aifterwards  rubbed  a  little  of  the 
salve  on  the  end  of  the  tail,  and  a  noo  dog 
growed  on  it  in  less  than  a  week ! " 

"  H'm !  I  wonder,"  said  Tom,  "  if  he  was  to 
rub  some  of  it  inside  o'  your  skull,  whether  he 
could  grow  you  a  noo  set  o'  brains." 

"  I  say,  Bni,"  interposed  Ben  Bolter,  "  did 


60     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 

you  hear  tlie  first  lieutenant  say  where  he  in- 
tended to  steer  to  ]" 

"I  heard  somethin'  about  Gibraltar,  but 
don't  know  that  he  said  we  was  goin'  there. 
It 's  clear,  hows'ever,  that  we  must  go  somewhere 
to  refit  before  we  can  be  of  any  use." 

"  Ay ;  how  poor  Captain  Ward  would  have 
chafed  under  this  delay ! "  said  Bill  Bowls  sadly. 
"  He  would  have  been  like  a  caged  tiger. 
That 's  the  worst  of  war ;  it  cuts  off  good  and 
bad  men  alike.  There 's  not  a  captain  in  the 
fleet  like  the  one  we  have  lost,  Nelson  alone 
excepted." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  as  to  that,"  said  Ben 
Bolter;  "but  there's  no  doubt  that  Admiral 
Nelson  is  the  man  to  lick  the  French,  and  I 
only  hope  that  he  may  find  their  fleet,  and  that 
I  may  be  there  to  lend  a  hand." 

"  Ditto,"  said  Bill  Bowls. 

"  Do,"  added  Tom  Eiggles. 

Having  thus  expressed  their  sentiments,  the 
three  friends  separated.  Not  long  afterwards 
the  Waterwitch  sailed  with  her  prizes  into  Gib- 
raltar. 

Here  was  found  a  portion  of  the  fleet  which 
had  been  forwarded  by  Earl  St.  Vincent  to  re- 
inforce Nelson.  It  was  about  to  set  saU,  and 
as  there  was  every  probability  that  the  Water- 
witch  would  require  a  considerable  time  to  refit, 
some  of  her  men  were  drafted  into  other  ships. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


61 


¥ 


Among  others,  our  friends  Bill  Bowls,  Ben 
Bolter,  and  Tom  Higgles,  were  sent  on  board 
the  Majestic,  a  seventy-four  gun  ship  of  the  line, 
commanded  by  Captain  Westcott,  one  of  Eng- 
land's most  noted  captains. 

This  vessel,  with  ten  line-of-battle  ships,  set 
sail  to  join  Nelson,  and  assist  him  in  the  diffi- 
cult duty  of  watching  the  French  fleet 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NELSON  HUNTS  THE  FRENCH. 

A  T  this  time  Sir  Horatio  Nelson  had  been 
"^^  despatched  to  the  Mediterranean  with  a 
small  squadron  to  ascertain  the  object  of  the 
great  expedition  which  was  fitting  out,  under 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  at  Toulon. 

Nelson  had  for  a  long  time  past  been  dis- 
playing, in  a  series  of  complicated  and  difficult 
operations  in  the  Mediterranean,  those  splendid 
qualities  which  had  already  won  for  him  un- 
usual honours  and  fame,  and  which  were  about 
to  raise  him  to  that  proud  pinnacle  which  he 
ultimately  attained — as  England's  greatest 
naval  hero.  His  address  and  success  in  matters 
of  diplomacy  had  filled  his  superiors  and  the 
Government  with  sentiments  of  respect ;  his 
moral  courage  in  risking  reputation  and  posi- 
tion with  unflinching  resolution,  by  disoheying 
orders  when  by  so  doing  the  good  and  credit 
of  his  country  could  be  advanced,  made  him  an 
object  of  dread  to  some,  of  admiration  to  others, 
while  his  lionlike  animal  courage  and  amiability 
endeared  him  to  his  officers  and  men.     Sailors 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE, 


63 


had  begun  to  feel  that  -where  Nelson  led  the 
way  victory  was  certain,  and  those  who  were 
ordered  to  join  his  fleet  esteemed  themselves 
most  fortunate. 

The  defeat  of  the  French  armament  was  con- 
sidered by  the  English  Government  a  matter  of 
80  great  importance,  that  Earl  St.  Vincent,  then 
engaged  in  blockading  the  Spanish  fleet,  was 
directed,  if  he  thought  ft  necessary,  to  draw  off 
his  entire  fleet  for  the  puq^ose,  and  relinquish 
the  blockade.  He  was,  however,  told  that,  if 
he  thought  a  detachment  sufficient,  he  was  to 
place  it  under  the  command  of  Sir  Horatio 
Nelson.  The  Earl  did  consider  a  detachment 
sufficient,  and  had  already  made  up  his  mind 
to  give  the  command  to  Nelson,  being  thoroughly 
alive  to  his  great  talents  and  other  good 
quahties.  He  accordingly  sent  him  to  the 
Mediterranean  with  three  ships  of  the  line,  four 
frigates,  and  a  sloop  of  war. 

This  force  was  now,  by  the  addition  to  which 
we  have  referred,  augmented  so  largely  that 
Nelson  found  himself  in  possession  of  a  fleet 
with  which  he  might  not  only  "  watch"  the 
enemy,  but,  if  occasion  should  offer,  attack  him. 

He  was  refitting  after  a  storm  in  the  Sar- 
dinian harbour  of  St.  Pietro,  when  the  rein- 
forcements hove  in  si^ht.  As  soon  as  the 
ships  were  seen  from  the  masthead  of  the 
Admiral's  vessel,  Nelson  immediately  signalled 


64 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


that  they  should  put  to  sea.  Accordingly  the 
united  fleet  set  sail,  and  began  a  vigorous 
search  for  the  French  armament,  which  had 
left  Toulon  a  short  time  before. 

The  search  was  for  some  time  unsuccessful. 
No  tidings  could  be  obtained  of  the  destina- 
tion of  the  enemy  for  some  time,  but  at  length 
it  was  learned  that  he  had  surprised  Malta. 

Although  his  fleet  was  inferior  in  si^e  to  that 
of  the  French,  Nelson — and  indeed  aU  his 
ofiicers  and  men — longed  to  meet  with  and 
engage  them.  The  Admiral,  therefore,  formed  a 
plan  to  attack  them  while  at  anchor  at  Gozo, 
but  he  received  information  that  the  French  had 
left  that  island  the  day  after  their  arrival 
Holding  very  strongly  the  opinion  that  they 
were  bound  for  Egypt,  he  set  sail  at  once  in 
pursuit,  and  arrived  off  Alexandria  on  the  28th 
of  June  1798. 

There,  to  his  intense  disappointment,  he 
found  that  nothing  had  been  seen  or  heard  of 
the  enemy.  Nelson's  great  desire  was  to  meet 
with  Napoleon  Bonaparte  and  fight  him  on  the 
sea.  But  this  wish  was  not  to  be  gratified. 
He  found,  however,  that  the  governor  of  Alex- 
andria was  endeavouring  to  put  the  city  in  a 
state  of  defence,  for  he  had  received  information 
from  Leghorn  that  the  French  expedition  was 
intended  to  proceed  against  Egypt  after  having 
taken  JNIalta. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE,     65 

Leaving  Alexandria,  Nelson  proceeded  in 
various  directions  in  search  of  the  French, 
carrying  a  press  of  sail  night  and  day  in  hia 
anxiety  to  fall  in  with  them,  but  being  baffled  in 
his  search,  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Sicily 
to  obtain  fresh  supplies  in  order  to  continue 
the  pursuit. 

Of  course  Nelson  was  blamed  in  England 
for  his  want  of  success  in  this  expedition,  and 
Earl  St.  Vincent  was  severely  censured  for 
having  sent  so  young  an  officer  on  a  service  so 
important.  Anticipating  the  objection,  that 
he  ought  not  to  have  made  so  long  a  voyage 
without  more  certain  information.  Nelson  said, 
in  vindication  of  his  conduct : — 

"  Who  was  I  to  get  such  information  from  ] 
The  Governments  of  Naples  and  SicUy  either 
knew  not,  or  chose  to  keep  me  in  ignorance. 
Was  I  to  wait  patiently  untU  I  heard  certain 
accounts  1  If  Egypt  were  their  object,  before 
I  could  hear  of  them,  they  would  have  been  in 
India.  To  do  nothing  was  disgraceful ;  there- 
fore I  made  use  of  my  understanding.  I  am 
before  your  Lordships'  judgment ;  and  if,  under 
all  circumstances,  it  is  decided  that  I  am 
wrong,  I  ought,  for  the  sake  of  our  country,  to 
be  superseded;  for  at  this  moment,  when  I 
know  the  French  are  not  in  Alexandria,  I  hold 
the  same  opinion  as  off  Cape  Passaro — that, 
under  all  circumstances,  I  was  right  in  steering 


66  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

for  Alexandria;  and  by  that  opinion  I  must 
stand  or  fall." 

It  was  ere  long  proved  that  Nelson  was 
right,  and  that  Earl  St.  Vincent  had  made  no 
mistake  in  sending  him  on  a  service  so  im- 
portant; for  we  now  know  that  in  all  the 
British  fleet  there  was  not  another  man  so 
admirably  adapted  for  the  duty  which  was 
assigned  to  him,  of  finding,  fighting,  and  con- 
quering the  French,  in  reference  to  whom  he 
wrote  to  the  first  lord  of  the  Admiralty,  "  Be 
they  bound  to  the  antipodes,  your  lordship 
may  rely  that  I  will  not  lose  a  moment  in 
bringing  them  to  action ! " 

Re-victualled  and  watered,  the  British  fleet 
set  sail  on  the  25  th  of  July  from  Syracuse. 
On  the  28th,  intelligence  was  received  that  the 
enemy  had  been  seen  about  four  weeks  before, 
steering  to  the  S.E.  from  Candia. 

With  characteristic  disregard  of  the  possible 
consequences  to  his  own  fame  and  interest,  in 
his  determination  to  "  do  the  right,"  Nelson  at 
once  resolved  to  return  to  Alexandria.  Ac- 
cordingly, with  aU  sail  set,  the  fleet  stood  once 
more  towards  the  coast  of  Egypt. 

Perseverance  was  at  length  rewarded.  On 
the  1st  of  August  1798,  about  ten  in  the 
morning,  they  sighted  Alexandria,  and  saw 
with  inexpressible  delight  that  the  port  was 
crowded  with  the  ships  of  France. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


67 


And  here  we  venture  to  say  that  we  sym- 
pathize with  the  joy  of  the  British  on  this 
occasion,  and  shall  explain  why  we  do  so. 

Not  every  battle  that  is  fought — however 
brilliant  in  military  or  naval  tactics  it  may  be, 
or  in  exhibitions  of  personal  prowess — deserves 
our  sympathy.  Only  that  war  which  is  waged 
against  oppression  is  entitled  to  respect,  and 
this,  we  hold,  applies  to  the  war  in  which 
the  British  were  engaged  at  that  time. 

France,  under  the  Directory,  had  commenced 
a  career  of  unwarrantable  conquest,  for  the 
simple  purpose  of  self-aggrandizement,  and  her 
great  general,  Bonaparte,  had  begun  that  course 
of  successful  warfare  in  which  he  displayed 
those  brilUant  talents  which  won  for  him  an 
empire,  constituted  him,  in  the  ordinary  accepta- 
tion of  the  word,  a  hero,  and  advanced  France 
to  a  high  position  of  tyrannical  power.  But 
brilHant  talents  and  success  could  not  free  him 
from  the  charge  of  being  a  wholesale  murderer. 

To  oppose  such  pretensions  and  practices  was 
a  bounden  duty  on  the  part  of  those  who  loved 
justice,  just  as  much  as  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
one  who  has  the  power  to  thwart  the  designs 
of,  and  forcibly  overcome,  a  highwayman  or  a 
pirate. 

Observe,  reader,  that  we  do  not  intend  here 
to  imply  an  invidious  comparison.  We  have 
no  sympathy  with  those  who  hold  that  England 


68 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


was  and  always  is  in  fevour  of  fair  play,  while 
France  was  bent  on  tyranny.  On  the  contrary, 
we  believe  that  England  has  in  some  instances 
been  guilty  of  the  sin  which  we  now  condemn, 
and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  many  Frenchmen 
of  the  present  day  would  disapprove  of  the 
policy  of  France  in  the  time  of  Napoleon  the 
First.  Neither  do  we  sympathize  with  the 
famous  saying  of  Nelson  that  "  one  Englishman 
is  equal  to  three  Frenchmen  ! "  The  tendency 
to  praise  one's-self  has  always  been  regarded 
among  Christian  nations  as  a  despicable,  or  at 
least  a  pitiable,  quality,  and  we  confess  that 
we  cannot  see  much  difference  between  a  boast- 
ful man  and  a  boastful  nation.  Frenchmen 
have  always  displayed  chivalrous  courage,  not 
a  whit  inferior  to  the  British,  and  history  proves 
that  in  war  they  have  been  eminently  successful. 
The  question  whether  they  could  beat  us  or 
we  could  beat  them,  if  tested  in  a  fair  stand- 
up  fight  with  equal  numbers,  besides  being  an 
unprofitable  one,  is  not  now  before  us.  All 
that  we  are  concerned  about  at  present  is,  that 
in  the  war  now  under  consideration  the  British 
did  beat  the  French,  and  we  rejoice  to  record 
the  fact  solely  on  the  ground  that  we  fought  in 
a  righteous  cause. 

With  these  remarks  we  proceed  to  give  an 
account  of  one  of  the  greatest  naval  victories 
ever  achieved  by  British  arms. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


69 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  NILE. 


A  FTEE,  Napoleon  Bonaparte  had  effected  his 
"^^  landing  in  Egypt,  the  French  fleet  was 
permitted  to  remain  at  Alexandria  for  some 
time,  and  thus  afforded  Nelson  the  opportunity- 
he  had  sought  for  so  long. 

For  many  previous  days  he  had  been  almost 
unable,  from  anxiety,  to  take  sleep  or  food,  but 
now  he  ordered  dinner  to  be  served,  while  pre- 
parations were  being  made  for  battle,  and  when 
his  officers  rose  to  leave  the  table,  he  said  to 
them  : — "  Before  this  time  to-morrow,  I  shall 
have  gained  a  peerage  or  Westminster  Abbey." 

The  French  had  found  it  impossible  to  enter 
the  neglected  and  ruined  port  of  Alexandria. 
Admiral  Brueys  had,  by  command  of  Napoleon, 
offered  a  reward  of  10,000  livres  to  any  native 
pilot  who  would  safely  convey  the  squadron  in, 
but  not  one  was  found  who  would  venture  to 
take  charge  of  a  single  vessel  that  drew  more 
than  twenty  feet.  The  gallant  admiral  was 
compelled,  therefore,  to  anchor  in  Aboukir  Bay, 
and  chose  the  strongest  position  that  was  pos- 

2e 


70  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 

sible  in  the  circumstances.  He  ranged  liis 
ships  in  a  compact  line  of  battle,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  leading  vessel  lay  close  to  a 
shoal,  while  the  remainder  of  the  fleet  formed 
a  curve  along  the  line  of  deep  water,  so  that  it 
was  thought  to  be  impossible  to  turn  it  by  any 
means  in  a  S.W.  direction,  and  some  of  the 
French,  who  were  best  able  to  judge,  said  that 
they  held  a  position  so  strong  that  they  could  bid 
defiance  to  a  force  more  than  double  their  own. 
The  presumption  was  not  unreasonable,  for  the 
French  had  the  advantage  of  the  English  in 
ships,  guns,  and  men,  but  they  had  omitted  to 
take  into  their  calculations  the  fact  that  the 
English  fleet  was  commanded  by  one  whose 
promptitude  in  action, readiness  and  eccentricity 
of  resource,  and  utter  disregard  of  consequences 
when  what  he  deemed  the  path  to  victory  lay 
l:)efore  him,  might  have  been  equalled,  but  cer- 
tainly could  not  have  been  surpassed,  by  Bona- 
parte himself. 

The  French  force  consisted  of  thirteen  ships 
of  the  line  and  four  frigates,  carrying  in  all 
1196  guns  and  11 ,2 30  men.  The  EngHsh  had 
thirteen  ships  of  the  line  and  a  fifty-gun  ship, 
carrying  in  all  1012  guns  and  8068  men. 
All  the  English  line-of-battle  ships  were  seventy 
fours.  Three  of  the  French  ships  carried  eighty - 
eight  guns,  and  one,  E  Orient,  was  a  monster 
three-decker  with  120  guns. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


71 


In  order  to  give  the  reader  a  better  idea  of 
the  forces  engaged  on  both  sides,  we  give  the 
following  list  of  ships.  It  is  right,  however,  to 
add  that  one  of  those  belongino;  to  the  Ens-hsh 
(the  Culloden)  ran  aground  on  a  shoal  when 
about  to  go  into  action,  and  took  no  part  in 
the  fight. 


Names. 

1.  Vanguard, 

2.  Minotaur, 

3.  Theseus, . 

4.  Alexander, 

5.  S^viftsure, 

6.  Audacious, 

7.  Defence, . 

8.  Zealous,  . 

9.  Orion, 

10.  Goliath,  . 

11.  Majestic, 

12.  Beilerophon 

13.  Culloden, 

14.  Leander, . 

15.  La  Mutine 


ENGLISH  SHIPS. 

Commanders. 
(  Admiral  Nelson,  ) 
I  Captain  Beny,    j  ' 

.  Thos.  Louis, .    .     . 

.  R.  W.  Miller,     .     . 

.  A.  J.  Ball,     ,     .     . 

.  B.  Hallowell      .    . 

.  D.  Gould,      .     .     . 

.  J.  Peyton,    .     .     . 

.  S.  Hood,  .     .    .     . 

.  Sir  James  Saumarez, 

.  Thos.  Foley, .     .     . 

.  G.  B.  Westcott .     . 

.  H.  D.  E.  Darby,     . 

.  T.  Trowbridge,  .     , 

.  T.  B.  Thomson,      . 
Brig. 


Guns.  Men. 

74  590 

74  640 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590 

74  590   ^^^ 

74  09U  I  engaged, 

50  343 


FRENCH  SHIPS. 

1.  L'Orient,      .    .  Admiral  Brueys,      120  1010  Burnt. 

2.  Le  Franklin, 80  800  Taken. 

3.  Le  Tonnant, 80  800  Taken. 

4.  Le  Guillaume  Tell, 80  800  Escaped, 

5.  Le  Conquerant, 74  700  Taken. 

6.  Le  Spartiate, 74  700  Taken. 

7.  L'Aquilon, 74  700  Taken. 

8.  Le  Souverain  Peuple, 74  700  Taken. 

9.  L'Heureux, 74  700  Taken. 

10.  Le  Timoleon, 74  700  Burnt. 


72     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


Names.  <"  Guns.  Men. 

11.  Le  Mercure, 74  700  Taken. 

12.  Le  Genereux, 74  700  Escaped. 

13.  Le  Guerrier, 74  600  Taken. 

14.  La  Diane  (Frigate), 48  300  Escaped, 

15.  La  Justice  (Frigate), 44  300  Escaped. 

16.  L'Artemise  (Frigate), 36  250  Burnt. 

17.  La  Serieux  (Frigate), 36  250/i'i5™"«t«d 

(  and  Smik. 


Such  were  the  forces  that  met  to  engage  in 
deadly  conflict  on  the  1st  of  August  1798, 
with  not  only  national  but  world-wide  interest 
pending  on  the  issue,  for  the  battle  of  the  NUe 
was  one  of  the  leading  battles  of  the  world. 

When  Nelson  perceived  the  position  of  the 
enemy,  his  fertile  and  active  mind  at  once 
evolved  a  characteristic  course  of  action. 
Where  there  was  room,  he  said,  for  an  enemy's 
ship  to  swing,  there  was  room  for  one  of  his 
to  anchor.  He  therefore  at  once  formed  the 
plan  of  doubling  on  the  French  ships,  stationing 
one  of  his  ships  on  the  bow  and  another  on  the 
quarter  of  each  of  the  enemy. 

Nelson  immediately  explained  his  intended 
course  to  liis  officers.  It  had  been  his  custom, 
during  the  whole  time  he  was  engaged  in 
searching  for  the  French  fleet,  to  have  his 
captains  as  frequently  as  possible  on  board  the 
Vanguard,  when  he  explained  to  them  his  opinions 
as  to  the  best  mode  of  attack  in  all  the  various 
positions  in  which  it  was  possible  or  probable 
that  the  enemy  might  be  found.     Hence  they 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     73 

knew  their  commander's  tactics  so  well,  that 
when  the  hour  for  action  arrived,  no  time  was 
lost  in  the  tedious  operation  of  signalling 
orders.  He  had  such  confidence  in  all  his 
officers,  that  after  thoroughly  explaining  his 
intended  plan  of  attack,  he  merely  said  to 
them,  "  Form  as  is  most  convenient  for  mutual 
support,  and  anchor  by  the  stern.  First  gain 
the  victory,  and  then  make  the  best  use  of  it 
you  can." 

When  Captain  Berry,  perceiving  the  bold- 
ness of  the  plan,  said,  "If  we  succeed,  what 
will  the  world  say  1"  Nelson  replied,  "  There  is 
no  if  in  the  case;  that  we  shall  succeed  is 
certain  :  who  may  live  to  tell  the  story  is  a 
very  different  question  ! " 

Nelson  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  the 
power  of  infusing  into  his  men  the  irresis- 
tible confidence  that  animated  his  own  bosom. 
There  was  probably  not  a  man  in  the  British 
fleet  who  did  not  sail  into  Aboukir  Bay  on 
that  memorable  day  with  a  feeling  of  certainty 
that  the  battle  was  as  good  as  gained  before 
it  was  begun.  The  cool,  quiet,  self-possessed 
manner  in  which  the  British  tars  went  to  work 
at  the  beginning  must  have  been  very  impres- 
sive to  the  enemy  ;  for,  as  they  advanced,  they 
did  not  even  condescend  to  fire  a  shot  in  reply 
to  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell  to  which  the 
leading  ships  were  treated  by  the  batteries  on 


74     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

an  island  in  the  bay,  and  by  tlie  broadsides  of 
the  whole  French  fleet  at  half  gunshot-range, 
the  men  being  too  busily  engaged  in  furling  the 
sails  aloft,  attending  to  the  braces  below,  and 
preparing  to  cast  anchor  ! 

Nelson's  fleet  did  not  all  enter  the  bay  at 
once,  but  each  vessel  lost  no  time  in  taking  up 
position  as  it  arrived  ;  and  as,  one  after  another, 
they  bore  down  on  the  enemy,  anchored  close 
alongside,  and  opened  fire,  the  thunder  of  the 
French  fleet  was  quickly  and  increasingly  aug- 
mented by  the  British,  until  the  full  tide  of  battle 
was  reached,  and  the  shores  of  Egypt  trembled 
under  the  incessant  rolling  roar  of  dreadful  war ; 
while  sheets  of  flame  shot  forth  and  rent  the 
thick  clouds  which  enwrapped  the  contending 
fleets,  and  hung  incumbent  over  the  bay. 

An  attempt  was  made  by  a  French  brig  to 
decoy  the  English  ships  towards  a  shoal  before 
they  entered  Aboukir  Bay,  but  it  failed,  be- 
cause Nelson  either  knew  the  danger  or  saw 
through  the  device. 

It  seemed  as  if  the  Zealous  (Captain  Hood) 
was  to  have  the  honour  of  commencing  the 
action,  but  Captain  Foley  passed  her  in  the 
Goliath,  and  successfully  accomplished  that  feat 
which  the  French  had  deemed  impossible,  and 
had  done  their  best  to  guard  against.  Instead 
of  attacking  the  leading  ship — the  Guerrier — 
outside,  he  sailed  round  her  bows,  passed  be- 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.  75 

tween  her  and  the  shore,  and  cast  anchor. 
Before  he  could  bring  up,  however,  he  had 
drifted  down  to  the  second  ship  of  the  enemy's 
line — the  Conqiierant — and  opened  fire.  It  had 
been  rightly  conjectured  that  the  landward 
guns  of  the  enemy  would  not  be  manned,  or 
even  ready  for  action.  The  Goliath,  therefore, 
made  short  and  sharp  work  of  her  foe.  In  ten 
minutes  the  masts  of  the  Conguerant  were  shot 
away !  The  Zealous  was  laid  alongside  the 
Guerrier,  and  in  twelve  minutes  that  vessel  was 
totally  disabled.  Next  came  the  Orion  (Sir  J. 
Sauraarez),  which  went  into  action  in  splendid 
style.  Perceiving  that  a  frigate  lying  farther 
inshore  was  annoying  the  Goliath,  she  sailed 
towards  her,  giving  the  Guerrier  a  taste  of  her 
larboard  guns  as  long  as  they  would  bear  upon 
her,  then  dismasted  and  sunk  the  frigate, 
hauled  round  towards  the  French  line,  and, 
anchoring  between  the  FranJdin  and  the  Souve- 
rain  Peuple,  received  and  returned  the  fire  of 
both. 

In  like  manner  the  Audacious  (Captain  Gould) 
justified  her  name  by  attacking  the  Guerrier 
and  ConqiLerant  at  once,  and,  when  the  latter 
struck,  passed  on  to  the  Souverain  Peuple. 

The  unfortunate  Guerrier  was  also  Avorthy  of 
her  title,  for  she  bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle. 
Every  ship  that  passed  her  appeared  to  deem  it 
a  duty  to  give  her  a  broadside  before  settling 


76  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZK 

down  to  its  particular  place  in  the  line,  and 
finding  its  own  special  antagonist  or  antagonists 
—for  several  of  the  English  ships  engaged  two 
of  the  enemy  at  once.  The  Theseus  (Captain 
Miller),  after  bringing  down  the  main  and  miz- 
zen  masts  of  the  Guerrier,  anchored  inside  the 
Spartiate  and  engaged  her. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  other  side  of  this  vessel, 
Nelson's  ship,  the  Vanguard,  bore  down  on  the 
foe  with  six  flags  flying  in  different  jjarts  of  the 
rigging,  to  guard  against  the  possibility  of  his 
colours  being  shot  away !  She  opened  a 
tremendous  fire  on  the  SjMrtiate  at  half  pistol- 
range.  The  muscular  British  tars  wrought 
with  heroic  energy  at  the  guns.  In  a  few 
minutes  six  of  these  guns,  which  stood  on  the 
forepart  of  the  Vang-uard's  deck,  were  left  with- 
out a  man,  and  three  times  afterwards  were 
these  six  guns  cleared  of  men — so  terrific  was 
the  fire  of  the  enemy. 

Other  four  of  the  British  vessels  sailed  ahead 
of  the  Vanguard  and  got  into  action.  One  of 
these — the  Bellerophon  (Captain  Darby) — en- 
gaged the  gigantic  Orient,  which  was  so  dispro- 
portionately large  that  the  weight  of  ball  from 
her  lower  deck  alone  exceeded  that  from  the 
whole  broadside  of  her  assailant.  The  result 
was  that  the  Bellerophon  was  overpowered,  200  of 
her  men  were  killed  or  wounded,  all  her  masts 
and  cables  were  shot  awav,  and  she  drifted  out 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEE2E. 


77 


of  the  line.  Her  place,  however,  was  taken  by 
the  Swlftsure,  which  not  only  assailed  the  Orient 
on  the  bow,  but  at  the  same  time  opened  a 
steady  fire  on  the  quarter  of  the  Franklin. 

Before  this  time,  however,  the  shades  of 
night  had  fallen  on  the  scene.  The  battle 
began  at  half-past  six  in  the  evening — half-an- 
hour  afterwards  daylight  was  gone,  and  the 
deadly  fight  was  lighted  only  by  the  lurid  and 
fitful  flashing  of  the  guns. 

Those  vessels  of  the  Enghsh  squadron  which 
happened  to  be  in  rear  were  some  leagues  astern 
when  the  fight  began,  and  it  was  so  dark  when 
they  entered  that  extreme  difficulty  was  ex- 
perienced in  getting  in.  One  of  these — the 
Cullodcn  (Captain  Trowbridge) — sounded  care- 
fully as  she  went,  but  got  aground,  where  she 
remained  helpless  during  the  action,  despite 
the  eff"orts  of  the  Leander  and  Mutlne  bri^  to 
get  her  ofi".  She  served,  however,  as  a  beacon 
to  the  Alexander  and  Swiftsure. 

The  latter  ship,  on  entering  the  bay,  fell  in 
with  the  drifting  and  disabled  Bellerophon, 
which  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  one  of  the 
enemy,  because  she  did  not  show  the  signal 
ordered  by  Nelson  to  be  hoisted  by  his  ships 
at  the  mizzen  peak.  This  arose,  of  course,  from 
the  masts  having  been  shot  away.  Captain 
Hallowell  wisely  refrained  from  firing  on  her, 
Baying  that,  if  she  was  an  enemy,  she  was  too 


78     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 

much  disabled  to  escape.  He  passed  on,  there- 
fore, and,  as  we  have  said,  took  the  station  and 
the  duty  from  which  the  other  had  been  driven. 

The  huge  Orient  was  now  surrounded.  Cap- 
tain Ball,  in  the  Alexander,  anchored  on  her 
larboard  quarter,  and,  besides  raking  her  with 
his  guns,  kept  up  a  steady  fire  of  musketry  on 
her  decks.  Captain  Thomson  also,  in  the 
Leander,  took  up  such  a  position  that  he  could 
fire  into  her  and  the  Franklin  at  the  same  time. 

Standing  in  the  midst  of  death  and  destruc- 
tion, the  hero  of  the  Nile  did  not  escape 
scathless.  He  remained  unhurt,  however,  until 
he  knew  that  victory  was  certain.  The  first 
and  second  ships  of  the  enemy's  line  were  dis- 
abled, as  we  have  said,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  action,  and  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
were  taken  between  eight  and  nine ;  so  that 
Nelson  could  not  have  much,  if  any,  doubt  as 
to  the  issue  of  the  battle. 

Suddenly  he  received  a  wound  on  the  head 
from  a  piece  of  langridge  shot,  and  fell  into  the 
arms  of  Captain  Berry.  A  large  flap  of  skin 
was  cut  from  the  bone  and  fell  over  his  sound 
eye, — the  other  having  been  lost  in  a  previous 
engagement.  The  flow  of  blood  was  very  great, 
and,  being  thus  totally  blinded,  he  thought  that 
he  had  received  a  mortal  wound.  He  was 
immediately  carried  down  to  the  cock-pit. 

The  cock-pit  of  a  man  of- war  lies  in   that 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


79 


part  of  the  ship  which  is  below  water,  and  is 
never  visited  by  the  light  of  day.  Being  safe 
also  from  the  visitation  of  shot  or  shell,  it  has 
been  selected  as  the  place  to  which  the  wounded 
are  conveyed  during  an  action  to  have  their 
wounds  dressed  and  limbs  amputated  by  the 
surgeons — whose  hands  at  such  seasons  are,  as 
may  easily  be  supposed,  much  too  full.  No 
pen  can  describe  adequately  the  horrors  of  that 
dimly-lighted  place,  with  its  flickering  lights, 
glittering  knives,  bloody  tables  and  decks,  and 
mangled  men,  whose  groans  of  agony  burst 
forth  in  spite  of  their  utmost  efforts  to  repress 
them.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  dead,  dying,  and 
suffering  men,  the  great  Admiral  sat  down  to 
wait  his  turn. 

The  surgeon  was  engaged  in  dressing  the 
wounds  of  a  sailor  when  he  was  brought  down. 
On  learning  v/ho  it  was  that  required  his  ser- 
vices, he  quitted  the  man  who  was  under  his 
hands.  "No,"  said  Nelson,  refusing  his  prof- 
fered assistance,  "no;  I  will  take  my  turn 
with  my  brave  fellows."  Accordingly,  there 
he  remained,  persistently  refusing  aid,  until 
every  man  who  had  been  previously  wounded 
had  been  attended  to  !  When  his  turn  came, 
it  was  found  that  his  wound  was  merely  super- 
ficial ;  and  heartfelt  was  the  joy  expressed  by 
the  wounded  men  and  the  crew  of  the  Vanguard 
when  this  was  made  known. 


80 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


But  before  this  had  been  ascertained,  and 
while  he  believed  himself  to  be  dying,  Nelson 
called  the  chaplain,  and  gave  him  his  last  re- 
membrance to  Lady  Nelson,  appointed  a  suc- 
cessor to  Captain  Berry,  who  was  to  go  to 
England  with  the  news  of  the  victory,  and 
made  other  arrangements  in  anticipation  of  his 
death.  But  his  hour  had  not  yet  come.  When 
the  surgeon  pronounced  his  hurt  to  be  super- 
ficial, he  refused  to  take  the  rest  which  was 
recommended,  and  at  once  sent  for  his  secretary 
to  -write  despatches. 

While  he  was  thus  engaged,  a  cry  was  heard 
which  rose  above  the  din  of  battle,  proclaiming 
that  the  Orient  was  on  fire.  In  the  confusion 
that  followed,  Nelson  found  his  way  upon  deck 
unassisted,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  every 
one,  appeared  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  gave 
orders  to  lower  the  boats,  and  send  relief  to 
the  enemy. 

But  before  describing  the  scene  that  followed, 
we  shall  turn  aside  for  a  little  to  watch  more 
closely  the  proceedings  of  Captain  Westcott  in 
the  Majestic,  and  the  personal  deeds  of  Bill 
Bowls  and  his  messmates. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


81 


CHAPTER  VIL 

BATTLE  OP  THE  NILE — Continued. 

npHE  Majestic  was  one  of  the  four  ships  which 
•*-  sailed  into  action  in  the  wake  of  the  Ad- 
miral. 

Our  hero,  Bill  Bowls,  and  his  friend  Ben 
Bolter,  were  stationed  at  one  of  the  guns  on 
the  larboard  side  of  the  main  deck.  Flinders 
stood  near  them.  Everything  was  prepared 
for  action.  The  guns  were  loaded,  the  men, 
stripped  to  the  waist,  stood  ready,  and  the 
matches  were  lighted,  but  as  yet  no  order  had 
been  given  to  fire.  The  men  on  the  larboard 
side  of  the  ship  stood  gazing  anxiously  through 
the  portholes  at  the  furious  strife  in  which  they 
were  about  to  engage. 

"  Ah,  then  !  but  it 's  hot  work  is  goin'  on," 
said  Flinders,  turning  to  Ben  Bolter  just  after 
a  crash  of  artillery  somewhat  louder  than  usual. 

"  It 's  hotter  work  ye  '11  see  soon,  when  the 
Admiral  gits  into  action,"  said  Ben. 

"  True  for  ye,"  answered  Flinders  ;  "  he 's  a 
broth  of  a  boy  for  fightin'.     It 's  an  Irishman 


82 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


he  should  have  been  born.  Hooroo,  my 
hearties !  look  out ! " 

This  latter  exclamation  was  drawn  forth  by 
the  crashing  of  a  stray  shot,  which  entered  the 
ship  close  to  the  spot  where  they  stood,  and 
passed  out  on  the  starboard  side,  sending 
splinters  of  wood  flying  in  all  directions,  with- 
out hurting  any  one, 

'*  There  goes  the  first ! "  said  Bill  Bowls,  look- 
ing up  at  the  ragged  hole  that  was  left. 

"  Faix,  but  it 's  not  the  last !"  cried  Fhnders, 
as  another  stray  shot  hit  the  ship,  wounding 
one  of  the  men,  and  sending  a  splinter  so  close 
past  the  Irishman  that  it  grazed  his  cheek. 
"  Hooroo,  boys !  come  on,  the  more  the  merrier ! 
Sure  it 's  death  or  victory  we  '11  be  havin'  in 
half-an-hour." 

At  this  moment  of  intense  excitement  and 
expectation,  when  every  man's  nerves  tingled 
to  be  called  into  vigorous  action,  Ben  Bolter 
saw  fit  to  give  Flinders  a  lecture. 

"  Ye  shouldn't  ought  to  speak  misrespectful 
of  death,  boy,"  said  he  gravely.  "He's  a 
rough  customer  when  he  gits  hold  of  ee,  an'  is 
sartin  sure  to  have  the  upper  hand.  It 's  my 
opinion  that  he  '11  pay  this  ship  a  pretty  stiff 
visit  to-night,  so  you  'd  better  treat  him  with 
respect,  an'  belay  yer  jokin' — of  which  yer 
countrymen  are  over  fond." 

To  this  Flinders  listened  with  a  humorous 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


5S 


expression  about  the  corners  of  liis  eyes,  while 
lie  stroked  his  chin,  and  awaited  a  pause  in 
order  to  make  a  suitable  reply,  but  an  exclama- 
tion from  Bill  Bowls  changed  the  subject  ab- 
ruptly. 

"  Ho !  boys,"  he  cried,  "  there  goes  the  Ad- 
miral." 

A  tremendous  crash  followed  his  words,  and 
the  Vanguard  was  seen  to  pour  a  broadside  into 
the  Spartiate — as  before  related. 

The  men  of  the  Majestic  gazed  eagerly  at  the 
Admiral's  ship,  which  was  almost  enveloped  in 
thick  smoke  as  they  passed  ahead,  but  an  order 
from  Captain  Westcott  to  be  ready  for  action 
called  the  attention  of  every  man  on  his  duty. 
Whatever  might  have  been,  at  that  moment, 
the  thoughts  of  the  hundreds  of  men  on  board 
the  Majestic,  the  whole  soul  and  body  of  every 
man  appeared  to  be  concentrated  on  his  own 
gun,  as  he  awaited  in  stern  silence  the  order 
to  act. 

It  came  at  last,  but  somewhat  differently 
from  what  had  been  expected.  A  sudden  and 
peculiar  motion  was  felt  in  the  ship,  and  it  was 
found  that  she  had  got  entangled  with  the 
main  rigging  of  one  of  the  French  vessels  astern 
of  the  Orient.  Instantly  men  were  sent  aloft 
to  cut  clear,  but  before  this  could  be  accom- 
plished a  perfect  storm  of  shot  and  shell  was 
sent  into   them  from   the  towering  sides  of 


84      THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

the  three-decker.  Men  fell  on  all  sides  be- 
fore they  had  an  opportunity  of  firing  a  shot ; 
again  and  again  the  crushing  shower  of  metal 
came ;  spars  and  masts  fell ;  the  rigging  was 
cut  up  terribly,  and  in  a  short  time  the  Majestic 
would  certainly  have  been  sunk  had  she  not 
fortunately  managed  to  swing  clear.  A  moment 
afterwards  Captain  Westcott,  finding  himself 
close  alongside  the  Heureuz — the  ninth  ship  of 
the  enemy's  line — gave  the  word  to  open  fire, 
and  Bill  Bowls  had  at  last  the  satisfaction  of 
being  allowed  to  apply  a  light  to  the  touch-hole 
of  his  gun.  Seventy-four  men  had  for  some 
time  past  felt  their  fingers  itching  Avith  an  al- 
most irresistible  desire  to  do  this,  and  now  up- 
wards of  thirty  of  them  were  allowed  to  gratify 
their  wish.  Instantly  the  good  ship  received 
a  shock  that  caused  her  to  quiver  from  the 
trucks  to  the  keel,  as  her  broadside  went  crash- 
ing into  the  Heureux. 

No  longer  was  there  impatient  inaction  on 
board  the  Majestic,  for  not  only  did  the  Heureux 
reply  vigorously,  but  the  Tonnant — the  eighth 
of  the  enemy's  line — opened  fire  on  their  other 
side.  The  Majestic  therefore  fought  on  both 
sides.  Throughout  the  whole  ship  the  stalwart, 
half-naked  men  heaved  at  the  huge  guns. 
Everywhere,  from  stem  to  stern,  was  exhibited 
in  full  swing  the  active  processes  of  sponging 
out,  passing  along  powder  and  ball,  ramming 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE, 


85 


home  the  charges,  running  out,  working  the 
handspikes,  stepping  aside  to  avoid  the  recoil, 
— and  the  whole  operation  of  working  the  guns, 
as  only  British  seamen  know  how  to  work 
them!  All  this  was  done  in  the  midst  of 
smoke,  flame,  crashing  shot,  and  flying  splinters, 
while  the  decks  were  slippery  with  human 
blood,  and  strewn  with  dead  men,  from  amona;st 
whom  the  wounded  were  raised  as  tenderly  as 
the  desperate  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed  would  admit  of,  and  carried  below. 
Many  of  those  who  were  thus  raised  never 
reached  the  cock-pit,  but  again  fell,  along  with 
those  who  bore  them. 

One  of  the  men  at  the  gun  where  Bill  Bowls 
was  at  work  was  in  the  act  of  handing  a 
round  shot  to  Bill,  when  a  ball  entered  the 
port-hole  and  hit  him  on  the  head,  scattering 
his  brains  over  the  gun.  Bdl  sprang  fonvard 
to  catch  him  in  his  arms,  but  slipped  on  the 
bloody  deck  and  fell.  That  fall  saved  his  life, 
for  at  the  same  moment  a  musket  ball  entered 
the  port  and  passed  close  over  his  head, 
shattering  the  arm  of  a  poor  boy — one  of 
those  brave  little  fellows  called  powder-mon- 
keys— who  was  in  the  act  of  carrying  a  cart- 
ridge to  Ben  Bolter.  Ben  could  not  delay  the 
loading  of  the  piece  to  assist  the  little  fellow, 
who  used  his  remaining  strength  to  stagger 
forward  and  deliver  the  cartridge  before  he 

2  P 


86     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

fell,  but  he  shouted  hastily  to  a  passing  ship- 
mate— 

"  Here,  Davis,  carry  this  poor  little  chap  to 
the  cock-pit." 

Davis  turned  and  took  the  boy  in  his  arms. 
He  had  almost  reached  the  main  hatchway 
when  a  shell  entered  the  ship  and  burst  close 
to  him.  One  fragment  killed  the  boy,  and 
another  almost  cut  Davis  in  two.  They  fell 
and  died  together. 

For  a  long  time  this  terrible  firing  at  short 
range  went  on,  and  many  men  fell  on  both 
sides.  Among  others.  Captain  Westcott  was 
killed.  He  was  the  only  captain  who  fell  in 
that  battle,  and  was  one  who,  had  his  life  been 
spared,  would  certainly  have  risen  to  the  highest 
rank  in  the  service.  He  had  "  risen  from  the 
ranks,"  having  been  the  son  of  a  baker  in 
Devonshire,  and  gained  the  honourable  station 
in  which  he  lost  his  life  solely  through  his 
conspicuous  abilities  and  courage. 

Up  to  this  point  none  of  those  who  are 
principally  concerned  in  this  tale  had  received 
any  hurt,  beyond  a  few  insignificant  scratches, 
but  soon  after  the  death  of  the  little  boy,  Tom 
Higgles  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg 
from  a  splinter.  He  was  carried  below  by 
Bill  and  Ben. 

"It's  all  over  with  me,"  he  said  in  a  de- 
sponding tone  as  they  went  slowly  down  the 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


87 


ladders;  "I  knows  it'll  be  a  case  o'  ampita- 
tion." 

"  Don't  you  go  for  to  git  down-hearted,  Tom," 
said  Ben  earnestly.  "  You  're  too  tough  to  be 
killed  easy." 

"  Well,  I  is  tough,  but  wot  '11  toughness  do 
for  a  feller  agin  iron  shot.  I  feels  just  now  as 
if  a  red-hot  skewer  wos  rumblin'  about  among 
the  marrow  of  my  back-bone,  an'  I  've  got  no 
feelin'  in  my  leg  at  all.  Depend  upon  it, 
messmates,  it 's  a  bad  case." 

His  comrades  did  not  reply,  because  they 
had  reached  the  gloomy  place  where  the 
surgeons  were  engaged  at  their  dreadful  work. 
They  laid  Tom  down  on  a  locker. 

"Good-bye,  lads,"  said  Tom,  as  they  were 
about  to  turn  away,  "p'r'aps  I'll  not  see  ye 
again,  so  give  us  a  shake  o'  yer  flippers." 

Bill  and  Ben  silently  squeezed  their  comrade's 
hand,  being  unable  to  speak,  and  then  hastened 
back  to  their  stations. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  Orient  caught 
fire,  and  when  Bill  and  his  friend  reached  the 
deck,  sheets  of  flame  were  already  leaping  out 
at  the  port-holes  of  the  gigantic  ship.  The 
sides  of  the  Orient  had  been  recently  painted, 
and  the  paint-buckets  and  oil-jars  which  stood 
on  the  poop  soon  caught,  and  added  brilliancy 
to  the  gi-eat  conflagration  which  speedily 
followed  the   first  outbreak  of  fire.      It  was 


88  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 

about  nine  o'clock  when  the  fire  was  first  ob- 
served. Before  this  the  gallant  French  Admiral 
had  perished.  Although  three  times  wounded, 
Brueys  refused  to  quit  his  post.  At  length  a 
shot  almost  cut  him  in  two,  but  still  he  refused 
to  go  below,  and  desired  to  be  left  to  die  on 
his  quarter-deck.  He  was  spared  the  pain  of 
witnessing  the  destruction  of  his  vessel. 

Soon  the  flames  got  the  mastery,  and  blaz- 
ing upward  like  a  mighty  torch,  threw  a  strong 
and  appropriate  light  over  the  scene  of  battle. 
The  greater  part  of  the  crew  of  the  Orient  dis- 
played a  degree  of  courage  which  could  not  be 
surpassed,  for  they  stuck  to  their  guns  to  the 
very  last;  continuing  to  fire  from  the  lower 
deck  while  the  fii-e  was  raging  above  them, 
although  they  knew  full  well  the  dire  and  in- 
stantaneous destruction  that  must  ensue  when 
the  fire  reached  the  magazine. 

The  position  and  flags  of  the  two  fleets  were 
now  clearly  seen,  for  it  was  almost  as  light  as 
day,  and  the  fight  went  on  Avith  unabated  fury 
until  about  ten  o'clock,  when,  with  a  terrific 
explosion,  the  Orient  blew  up.  So  tremendous 
was  the  shock  that  it  seemed  to  paralyse  the 
combatants  for  a  little,  for  both  fleets  ceased 
to  fire,  and  there  ensued  a  profound  silence, 
which  continued  for  some  time.  The  first 
sound  that  broke  the  solemn  stillness  was  the 
splash  of  the  falling  spars  of  the  giant  ship 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


89 


as  they  descended  from  the  immenso  height 
to  which  they  had  been  shot ! 

Of  the  hundreds  of  human  heings  who 
manned  that  ship,  scarcely  a  tithe  were  saved. 
About  seventy  were  rescued  by  English  boats. 
The  scattered  and  burning  fragments  fell 
around  like  rain,  and  there  was  much  fear  lest 
these  should  set  some  of  the  neioibbourintf 
vessels  on  fire.  Two  large  pieces  of  burning 
wreck  fell  into  the  Stviftsure,  and  a  port  fire 
into  the  Alexander,  but  these  were  quickly 
extinguished. 

On  board  the  Maje&tic  also,  some  portions  of 
burning  material  fell.  While  these  were  being 
extinguished,  one  of  the  boats  was  ordered  out 
to  do  all  that  was  possible  to  save  the  drown- 
ing Frenchmen.  Among  the  first  to  jump  into 
this  boat  were  Bill  Bowls  and  Ben  Bolter. 
Bill  took  the  bow  oar,  Ben  the  second,  and  in 
a  few  moments  they  were  pulling  cautiously 
amid  the  debris  of  the  wreck,  helping  to  haul 
on  board  such  poor  fellows  as  they  could  get 
hold  of  The  work  was  difficult,  because  com- 
parative darkness  followed  the  explosion,  and 
as  the  fight  was  soon  resumed,  the  thunder  of 
heavy  guns,  together  with  the  plunging  of  ball, 
exploding  of  shell,  and  whizzing  of  chain-shot 
over-head,  rendered  the  service  one  of  danger 
as  well  as  difficulty. 

It  was  observed  by  the  men  of  the  Majesties 


90  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

boat  that  several  French  boats  were  moving 
about  on  the  same  errand,  of  mercy  with  them- 
selves, and  it  was  a  strange  as  well  as  interest- 
ing sight  to  see  those  who,  a  few  minutes 
before,  had  been  bent  on  taking  each  other's 
lives,  now  as  earnestly  engaged  in  the  work  of 
saving  life ! 

"Back  your  starboard  oars,"  shouted  Ben, 
just  as  they  passed  one  of  the  French  boats ; 
"  there 's  a  man  swimming  on  the  port  bow — 
that's  it ;  steady ;  lend  a  hand,  Bill ;  now  then, 
in  with  him." 

A  man  was  hoisted  over  the  gunwale  as  he 
spoke,  and  the  boat  passed  onward.  Just 
then  a  round  shot  from  one  of  the  more  distant 
ships  of  the  fleet — whether  English  or  French 
they  could  not  tell — struck  the  water  a  few 
yards  from  them,  sending  a  column  of  spray 
high  into  the  air.  Instead  of  sinking,  the  shot 
ricochetted  from  the  water  and  carried  away 
the  bow  of  the  boat  in  passing,  whirling  it 
round  and  almost  overturning  it.  At  the  same 
moment  the  sea  rushed  in  and  swamped  it, 
leaving  the  crew  in  the  water. 

Our  hero  made  an  involuntary  grasp  at  the 
thing  that  happened  to  be  nearest  him.  This 
was  the  head  of  his  friend  Ben  Bolter,  who 
had  been  seated  on  the  thwart  in  front  of  him. 
Ben  returned  the  grasp  promptly,  and  having 
somehow,  in  the  confusion  of  the  plunge,  taken 


A  Mistake, 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.      91 

it  into  his  head  that  he  was  in  the  grasp  of  a 
Frenchman,  he  endeavoured  to  throttle  Bill. 
Bill,  not  being  easily  throttled,  forthwith  pro- 
ceeded to  choke  Ben,  and  a  struggle  ensued 
which  might  have  ended  fatally  for  both,  had 
not  a  piece  of  wreck  fortunately  touched  Ben 
on  the  shoulder.  He  seized  hold  of  it,  BUI  did 
the  same,  and  then  they  set  about  the  fight 
with  more  precision. 

"  Come  on,  ye  puddock-eater ! "  cried  Ben, 
again  seizing  Bill  by  the  throat. 

"HaUo,  Ben!" 

"  Why,  wot— is 't  you,  Bill  1  Well,  now,  if 
I  didn't  take  ee  for  a  Mounseer ! " 

Before  more  could  be  said  a  boat  was  ob- 
served rowing  close  past  them.     Ben  hailed  it. 

"  Ho ! "  cried  a  voice,  as  the  men  rested  on 
their  oars  and  listened. 

"  Lend  a  hand,  shipmates,"  cried  Ben,  "  on 
yer  port  bow." 

The  oars  were  dipped  at  once,  the  boat 
ranged  up,  and  the  two  men  were  assisted  into 
it. 

"  It 's  all  well  as  ends  well,  as  I  've  heerd 
the  playactors  say,"  observed  Ben  Bolter,  as  he 
shook  the  water  from  his  garments.  "  I  say, 
lads,  what  ship  do  you  belong  to  1 " 

"  Ve  has  de  honair  to  b'long  to  Le  Guillaume 
Tell"  replied  one  of  the  men. 

"  Hallo,  Bill ! "  whispered  Ben,  "  it's  a  French 


92 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


boat,  an'  we  're  nabbed.     Prisoners  o'  war,  as 
sure  as  my  name 's  B.  B  !     Wot 's  to  be  done  V 

"  I  '11  make  a  bolt,  sink  or  swim,"  whispered 
our  hero. 

"  You  vill  sit  still,"  said  the  man  who  had 
already  spoken  to  them,  laying  a  hand  on  Bill's 
shoulder. 

Bill  jumped  up  and  made  a  desperate  attempt 
to  leap  overboard,  but  two  men  seized  him. 
Ben  sprang  to  the  rescue  instantly,  but  he  also 
was  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  the  hands 
of  both  were  tied  behind  their  backs.  A  few 
minutes  later  and  they  were  handed  up  the 
side  of  the  French  ship. 

When  day  broke  on  the  morning  of  the 
2d  of  August,  the  firing  still  continued,  but 
it  was  comparatively  feeble,  for  nearly  every 
ship  of  the  French  fleet  had  been  taken. 
Only  the  Guillaume  Tell  and  the  Genereux — 
the  two  rear  ships  of  the  enemy — had  their 
colours  flying. 

These,  with  two  frigates,  cut  their  cables 
and  stood  out  to  sea.  The  Zealous  pursued, 
but  as  there  was  no  other  British  ship  in  a  fit 
state  to  support  her,  she  was  recalled ;  the  four 
vessels,  therefore,  escaped  at  that  time,  but  they 
were  captured  not  long  afterwards.  Thus 
ended  the  famous  battle  of  the  Nile,  in  regard 
to  which  Nelson  said  that  it  was  a  "  conquest " 
rather  than  a  victory. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     93 

Of  thirteen  sail  of  the  line,  nine  were  taken 
and  two  burnt ;  and  two  of  their  four  frigates 
were  burnt.  The  British  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  amounted  to  89 6  ;  that  of  the  French 
was  estimated  at  2000. 

The  victory  was  most  complete.  The  French 
fleet  was  annihilated.  As  might  be  supposed, 
the  hero  of  the  Nile  was,  after  this,  almost 
worshipped  as  a  demigod.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  here  that  Nelson,  as  soon  as  the  con- 
quest was  completed,  sent  orders  through  the 
fleet  that  thanksgiving  should  be  returned,  in 
every  ship,  to  Almighty  God,  for  the  victory 
with,  which  He  had  blessed  his  Majesty's  arms. 


94     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZB. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OUR  HERO  AND  HIS  MESSMATE  GET  INTO  TROUBLE. 

ON  the  night  after  the  battle,  Bill  Bowls  and 
Ben  Bolter  were  sent  on  board  a  French 
transport  ship. 

As  they  sat  beside  each  other,  in  irons,  and 
securely  lodged  under  hatches,  these  stout  men 
of  war  lamented  their  hard  fate  thus — 

"  I  say,  Bill,  this  is  wot  I  calls  a  fix  !  " 

"  That 's  so,  Ben— a  bad  fix." 

There  was  silence  for  a  few  minutes,  then 
Ben  resumed — 

"  Now,  d'  ye  see,  this  here  war  may  go  on 
for  ever  so  long — years  it  may  be, — an'  here 
we  are  on  our  way  to  a  French  prison,  where 
we'll  have  the  pleasure,  mayhap,  of  spendin' 
our  youth  in  twirlin'  our  thumbs  or  bangin' 
our  heads  agin  the  bars  of  our  cage." 

"  There  ain't  a  prison  in  France  as  '11  hold 
me,"  said  Bill  Bowls  resolutely. 

"No]  how  d'ee  'xpect  to  git  out — seein' 
that  the  walls  and  doors  ain't  made  o'  butter, 
nor  yet  o'  turnips'?"  inquired  Ben. 


nils  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.  95 

"  I  '11  go  up  the  chimbley,"  said  Bill  savagely, 
for  his  mind  had  reverted  to  Nelly  Blyth,  and 
he  could  not  bear  to  think  of  prolonged  im- 
prisonment. 

"But  wot  if  they  've  got  no  chimbleys  1" 

"  I  '11  try  the  winders." 

"But  if  the  winders  is  tight  barred,  wot 
then?" 

"  Why,  then,  I  '11  bust  'em,  or  I  'U  bust  my- 
self, that 's  all." 

"  Humph ! "  ejaculated  Ben. 

Again  there  was  a  prolonged  silence,  during 
which  the  friends  moodily  meditated  ou  the 
dark  prospects  before  them. 

"  If  we  could  only  have  bin  killed  in  action," 
said  Bill,  "  that  would  have  been  some  comfort." 

"  Not  so  sure  o'  that,  messmate,"  said  Ben. 
*'  There 's  no  sayin'  wot  may  turn  up.  P'r'aps 
the  war  will  end  soon,  an'  that 's  not  onlikely, 
for  we  've  whipped  the  Mounseers  on  sea,  an' 
it  won't  be  difficult  for  our  lobsters  to  lick  'em 
on  land.  P'r'aps  there  11  be  an  exchange  of 
prisoners,  an'  we  may  have  a  chance  of  another 
brush  with  them  one  o'  these  days.  If  the 
wust  comes  to  the  Avust,  we  can  try  to  break 
out  o'  jail  and  run  a  muck  for  our  lives.  Never 
say  die  is  my  motto." 

Bill  Bowls  did  not  assent  to  these  sentiments 
in  words,  but  he  clenched  his  fettered  haaids, 
set  his  teeth  together,  and  gave  his  comrade  a 


96     THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

look  which  assured  him  that  whatever  might 
be  attempted  he  would  act  a  vigorous  part. 

A  few  days  Liter  the  transport  entered  a 
harbour,  and  a  guard  came  on  board  to  take 
charge  of  the  prisoners,  of  whom  there  were 
about  twenty.  As  they  were  being  led  to  the 
jail  of  the  town,  Bill  whispered  to  his  com- 
rade— • 

"  Look  out  sharp  as  ye  go  along,  Ben,  an' 
keep  as  close  to  me  as  ye  can." 

"  All  right,  my  lad,"  muttered  Ben,  as  he  fol- 
lowed the  soldiers  who  specially  guarded  him- 
self. 

Ben  did  not  suppose  that  Bill  intended  then 
and  there  to  make  a  sudden  struggle  for  free- 
dom, because  he  knew  that,  with  fettered 
wrists,  in  a  strange  port,  the  very  name  of 
which  they  did  not  know,  and  surrounded  by 
armed  enemies,  such  an  attempt  would  be 
utterly  hopeless ;  he  therefore  concluded,  cor- 
rectly, that  his  companion  wished  him  to  take 
the  bearings  (as  he  expressed  it)  of  the  port, 
and  of  the  streets  through  which  they  should 
pass.  Accordingly  he  kept  his  "weather-eye 
open." 

The  French  soldiers  who  conducted  the  sea- 
men to  prison,  although  stout  athletic  fellows, 
and,  doubtless,  capable  of  fighting  like  heroes, 
were  short  of  stature,  so  that  the  British  tars 
looked  down  on  them  with  a  patronizing  ex- 


THE  BATTLE  AlfD  THE  BREEZE.  97 

pression  of  countenance,  and  one  or  two  even 
ventured  on  a  few  facetious  remarks.  Bill 
Bowls  and  Ben  Bolter,  who  both  measured 
above  six  feet  in  their  stockings,  towered  above 
the  crowd  like  two  giants. 

"  It 's  a  purty  place  intirely,"  said  an  Irish 
sailor,  with,  a  smiling  countenance,  looking 
round  upon  the  houses,  and  nodding  to  a  group 
of  pretty  girls  who  were  regarding  the  prisoners 
with  looks  of  pity.  "  What  may  be  the  name 
of  it,  av  I  may  make  bowld  to  inquire?" 

The  question  was  addressed  to  the  soldier 
on  his  right,  but  the  man  paid  no  attention. 
80  the  Irishman  repeated  it,  but  without  draw- 
ing forth  a  reply. 

"  Sure,  yer  a  paltry  thing  that  can't  give  a 
civil  answer  to  a  civil  question." 

"  He  don't  understand  Irish,  Pat,  try  him 
with  English,"  said  Ben  Bolter. 

"  Ah,  then,"  said  Pat,  "  ye  'd  better  try  that 
yersilf,  only  yer  so  high  up  there  he  won't  be 
able  to  hear  ye." 

Before  Ben  had  an  opportunity  of  trying  the 
experiment,  however,  they  had  arrived  at  the 
jail.  After  they  had  passed  in,  the  heavy 
door  was  shut  Avith  a  clang,  and  bolted  and 
barred  behind  them. 

It  is  probable  that  not  one  of  the  poor  fel- 
lows who  heard  the  sound,  escaped  a  sensation 
of  sinking  at  the  heart,  but  certain  it  is  that 


98 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


not  oue  condescended  to  show  his  feelings  in 
his  looks. 

They  Avere  all  put  into  a  large  empty  room, 
the  window  of  which  looked  into  a  stone  pas- 
sage, which  was  itself  lighted  from  the  roof ; 
the  door  was  shut,  locked,  bolted,  and  barred, 
and  they  were  left  to  their  meditations. 

They  had  not  remained  long  there,  however, 
when  the  bolts  and  bars  were  heard  movinsr 
again. 

"What  say  ee  to  a  rush,  lads?"  whispered 
one  of  the  men  eagerly. 

"  Agreed,"  said  Bill  Bowls,  starting  forward ; 
"  I  '11  lead  you,  boys." 

"No  man  can  fight  with  his  hands  tied," 
growled  one  of  the  others.  "  You  '11  only  be 
spoilin'  a  better  chance,  mayhap." 

At  that  moment  the  last  bolt  was  with- 
draAvn,  and  the  door  swung  open,  revealing 
several  files  of  soldiers  with  muskets,  and 
bayonets  fixed,  in  the  passage.  This  sight 
decided  the  question  of  a  rush  ! 

Four  of  the  soldiers  entered  with  the  turn- 
key. The  latter,  going  up  to  Bill  Bowls  and 
Ben  Bolter,  said  to  them  in  broken  English  : — 

"  You  follows  de  soldat." 

Much  surprised,  but  in  silence,  they  obeyed 
the  command. 

As  they  were  going  out,  one  of  their  com- 
rades   said-    "  Good-bye,    mates ;    it 's    plain 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     99 

they've  taken  ye  for  admirals  on  account  o' 
yer  size ! " 

"Niver  a  taste,"  said  the  Irishman  before 
mentioned,  "  'tis  bein'  led,  they  are,  to  exe- 
kooshion — " 

The  remainder  of  this  consolatory  suggestion 
was  cut  off  by  the  shutting  of  the  door. 

After  traversing  several  passages,  the  turn- 
key stopped  before  a  small  door  studded  with 
iron  nails,  and,  selecting  one  of  his  huge  keys, 
opened  it,  while  the  soldiers  ranged  up  on 
either  side. 

The  turnkey,  who  was  a  tall,  powerful  man, 
stepped  back,  and,  looking  at  Bill,  pointed  to 
the  cell  with  his  finger,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Go 
in." 

Bill  looked  at  him  and  at  the  soldiers  for  a 
moment,  clenched  his  fists,  and  drew  his  breath 
short,  but  as  one  of  the  guard  quietly  brought 
his  musket  to  the  charge,  he  heaved  a  sigh, 
bent  his  head,  and,  passing  under  the  low  door- 
way, entered  the  cell. 

"  Are  we  to  stop  long  here,  Mister  Turn- 
key?" asked  Ben,  as  he  was  about  to  follow. 

The  man  vouchsafed  no  reply,  but  again 
pointed  to  the  cell. 

"  I  've  always  heered  ye  wos  a  purlite  nation," 
said  Ben,  as  he  followed  his  messmate ;  "  but 
there 's  room  for  improvement." 

The  door  was  shut,  and  the  two  friends  stood 


100    THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

for  a  few  minutes  in  the  centre  of  their  cell, 
gazing  in  silence  around  the  blank  walls. 

The  appearance  of  their  prison  was  un- 
doubtedly depressing,  for  there  was  nothing 
whatever  in  it  to  arrest  the  eye,  except  a  wooden 
bench  in  one  corner,  and  the  small  grated 
window  which  was  situated  near  the  top  of  one 
of  the  walls. 

"  What  d'  ye  think  o'  this  V  asked  Ben,  after 
some  time,  sitting  down  on  the  bench. 

"  I  think  I  won't  be  able  to  stand  it,"  said 
Bill,  flinging  himself  recklessly  down  beside 
his  friend,  and  thrusting  his  hands  deep  into 
his  trouser  pockets. 

"  Don't  take  on  so  bad,  messmate,"  said  Ben, 
in  a  reproving  tone.  "  Gittin'  sulky  with  fate 
ain't  o'  no  manner  o'  use.  As  our  messmate 
Flinders  used  to  say,  '  Be  aisy,  an'  if  ye  can't 
be  aisy,  be  as  aisy  as  ye  can.'  There 's  wot  I 
calls  sound  wisdom  in  that." 

"  Very  true,  Ben  ;  nevertheless  the  sound 
wisdom  in  that  won't  avail  to  get  us  out  o'  this." 

"  No  doubt,  but  it  '11  help  us  to  bear  this 
with  equablenimity  while  we  're  here,  an'  set 
our  minds  free  to  think  about  the  best  way  o' 
makin'  our  escape." 

At  this  Bill  made  an  effort  to  throw  off  the 
desperate  humour  which  had  taken  possession 
of  him,  and  he  so  far  succeeded  that  he  was 
enabled  to  converse  earnestly  with  his  friend. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.    101 

"Wot  are  we  to  do  1"  asked  Bill  gloomily. 

"  To  see,  first  of  all,  what  lies  outside  o'  that 
there  port-hole,"  answered  Ben.  "  Git  on  my 
shoulders,  Bill,  an'  see  if  ye  can  reach  it." 

Ben  stood  against  the  wall,  and  his  friend 
climbed  on  his  shoulders,  but  so  high  was  the 
window,  that  he  could  not  reach  to  within  a 
foot  of  it.  They  overcame  this  difficulty,  how- 
ever, by  dragging  the  bench  to  the  wall,  and 
standing  upon  it. 

"  I  see  nothin',"  said  Bill,  "  but  the  sky  an' 
the  sea,  an'  the  prison-yard,  which  appears  to 
me  to  be  fifty  or  sixty  feet  below  us." 

"  That 's  not  comfortin',"  observed  Ben,  as 
he  replaced  the  bench  in  its  corner. 

"  What 's  your  advice  now  1"  asked  Bill 

*'  That  we  remain  on  our  good  behaviour  a 
bit,"  replied  Ben,  "  an'  see  wot  they  means  t<» 
do  with  us,  an'  whether  a  chance  o'  some  sort 
won't  turn  up." 

"  Well,  that 's  a  good  plan — anyhow,  it 's  an 
easy  one  to  begin  with — so  we  '11  try  it  for  a 
day  or  two." 

In  accordance  with  this  resolve,  the  two 
sailors  called  into  play  all  the  patience,  pru- 
dence, and  philosophy  of  which  they  were 
possessed,  and  during  the  three  days  that  fol- 
lowed their  incarceration,  presented  such  a 
meek,  gentle,  resigned  aspect,  that  the  stoniest 
heart  of  the  most  iron-moulded  turnkey  ought 

2a 


102 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE. 


to  have  been  melted  ;  but  the  particular  tuna- 
key  of  that  prison  was  made  of  something  more 
or  less  than  mortal  mould,  for  he  declined  to 
answer  questions, — declined  even  to  open  his 
lips,  or  look  as  if  he  heard  the  voices  of  his 
prisoners,  and  took  no  notice  of  them  farther 
than  to  fetch  their  food  at  regular  intervals 
and  take  away  the  empty  plates.  He,  however, 
removed  their  manacles;  but  whether  of  his 
own  good-will  or  by  order  they  did  not  know. 

"  Now,  Ben,"  said  Bill  on  the  evening  of  the 
third  day,  as  they  sat  beside  each  other  twirling 
their  thumbs,  "  this  here  sort  o'  thing  will  never 
do.  I  mean  for  to  make  a  dash  when  the  turn- 
key comes  in  the  mornin' ;  will  you  help  me  1" 

*'  I  'm  yer  man,"  said  Ben  ;  "  but  how  d'  ye 
mean  to  set  about  if}" 

"  Well,  somewhat  in  this  fashion  : — Wenever 
he  opens  the  door  I'll  clap  my  hand  on  his 
mouth  to  stop  his  pipe,  and  you  '11  slip  behind 
him,  throw  yer  arms  about  him,  and  hold  on 
till  I  tie  a  handkerchief  over  his  mouth.  Arter 
that  we  '11  tie  his  hands  and  feet  with  whatever 
we  can  git  hold  of — his  own  necktie,  mayhap — 
take  the  keys  from  him,  and  git  out  the  best 
way  we  can." 

"  H'm  ;  but  wot  if  we  don't  know  the  right 
turnin's  to  take,  an'  run  straight  into  the  ja^rs 
of  other  turnkeys,  p'raps,  or  find  other  doors 
an'  gates  that  his  bunch  o'  keys  won't  open  1" 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     103 

"  Why,  then,  we  '11  just  fail,  that 's  all ;  an' 
if  they  should  scrag  us  for  it,  no  matter." 

"It's  a  bad  look-out,  but  I'll  try,"  said 
Ben. 

Next  morning  this  plan  was  put  in  execu- 
tion. When  the  turnkey  entered  the  cell.  Bill 
seized  him  and  clapped  his  hand  on  his  mouth. 
The  man  struggled  powerfully,  but  Ben  held 
him  in  a  grasp  so  tight  that  he  was  as  helpless 
as  an  infant. 

^  Keep  yer  mind  easy,  Mounseer,  we  won't 
hurt  ee,"  said  Ben,  while  his  comrade  was  busy 
gagging  him. 

"  Now,  then,  lift  him  into  the  corner,"  whis- 
pered Bill. 

Ben  and  he  carried  the  turnkey,  whom  they 
had  tied  hand  and  foot  with  handkerchiefs  and 
neckties,  into  the  interior  of  the  cell,  left  him 
there,  locked  the  door  on  him,  and  immediately 
ran  along  the  passage,  turned  a  corner,  and  came 
in  sight  of  an  iron  grating,  on  the  other  side  of 
which  sat  a  man  in  a  dress  similar  to  that  of 
the  turnkey  they  had  left  behind  them.  They 
at  once  drew  back  and  tried  to  conceal  them- 
selves, but  the  man  had  caught  sight  of  them, 
and  gave  the  alarm. 

Seeing  that  their  case  was  desperate,  Bill 
rushed  at  thr  grating  with  all  his  force  and 
threw  himself  heavily  against  it.  The  whole 
building  appeared  to  quiver  with  the  shock ; 


104 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


but  the  caged  tiger  has  a  better  chance  of 
smashing  his  iron  bars  than  poor  Bill  Bowls 
had.  Twice  he  flung  his  whole  weight  against 
the  barrier,  and  the  second  time  Ben  helped 
him ;  but  their  efi'orts  were  in  vain.  A 
moment  later  and  a  party  of  soldiers  marched 
up  to  the  grating  on  the  outside.  At  the  same 
time  a  noise  was  heard  at  the  other  end  of  the 
passage.  Turning  round,  the  sailors  observed 
that  another  gate  had  been  opened,  and  a  party 
of  armed  men  admitted,  who  advanced  with 
levelled  muskets. 

Seeing  this,  BiU  burst  into  a  bitter  laugh, 
and  flung  down  the  keys  with  a  force  that 
caused  the  long  passage  to  echo  again,  as  he 
exclaimed — 

"  It 's  all  up  with  us,  Ben.  "We  may  as  well 
give  in  at  once." 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Ben  sadly,  as  he  suffered 
himself  to  be  handcuff'ed,  after  which  he  and 
his  companion  in  misfortune  were  conducted 
back  to  their  celL 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE.    105 


CHAPTER    IX. 

BILL  AND  BEN  SET  THEIR  BRAINS  TO  STEEP  WITH 
UNCONQUERABLE  PERSEVERANCE. 

IN  its  slow  but  steady  revolution,  the  wheel 
of  fortune  had  now  apparently  brought 
Bill  Bowls  and  Ben  Bolter  to  the  lowest  pos- 
sible point ;  and  the  former  of  these  worthies 
consoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that,  as 
things  could  scarcely  get  worse  with  them,  it 
was  probable  they  would  get  better.  His  friend 
disputed  this  point. 

"  It 's  all  very  well,"  said  Ben,  crossing  his 
legs  and  clasping  his  hands  over  his  knees,  as 
he  swayed  himself  to  and  fro,  "  to  talk  about 
havin'  come  to  the  %vust ;  but  we  've  not  got 
to  that  pint  by  a  long  way.  Why,  suppose 
that,  instead  o'  bein'  here,  sound  in  wind  and 
limb,  though  summat  unfort'nate  in  regard  to 
the  matter  o'  liberty, — suppose,  I  say,  that  we 
wos  lyin'  in  hospital  with  our  right  legs  an' 
mayhap  our  left  arms  took  oflf  with  a  round 
shot." 

"  Oh,  if  you  go  for  to  supposin,"  said  Bill, 
"you  may  suppose  anything.     Why  not  sup- 


106 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE, 


pose  at  once  that  we  was  lyin'  in  hospital  with 
both  legs  and  arms  took  off  by  round  shot,  an' 
both  eyes  put  out  with  canister,  an'  our  heads 
an'  trunks  carried  away  by  grape-shot  1" 

"I  didn't  suppose  that,"  said  Ben  quietly, 
"  because  that  would  be  the  best  instead  o'  the 
wust  state  we  could  come  to,  seein'  that  we  'd 
know  an'  care  nothin'  about  it.  Hows' ever, 
here  we  are,  low  enough,  an'  havin'  made  an 
assault  on  the  turnkey,  it's  not  likely  we'll 
get  much  favour  at  the  hands  of  the  Mounseers ; 
so  it  comes  to  this,  that  we  must  set  our  brains 
to  steep,  an'  see  if  we  can't  hit  upon  some  dodge 
or  other  to  escape." 

"  That 's  what  we  must  do,"  assented  Bill 
Bowls,  knitting  his  brows,  and  gazing  abstract- 
edly at  the  blank  wall  opposite.  "  To  git  out  o' 
this  here  stone  jug  is  what  I  've  set  my  heart 
on,  so  the  sooner  we  set  about  it  the  better." 

"Just  so,"  said  Ben.  "Well,  then,  let's 
begin.     Wot  d'ee  propose  fust  1" 

To  this  Bill  replied  that  he  must  think  over  it. 
'Accordingly,  he  did  think  over  it,  and  his  com- 
rade assisted  him,  for  the  space  of  three  calendar 
months,  without  any  satisfactory  result.  But  the 
curious  thing  about  it  was  that,  while  these  men 
revolved  in  their  minds  every  conceivable  plan 
with  unflagging  eagerness,  and  were  compelled 
to  give  up  each  after  brooding  over  it  for  a 
considerable  time,  finding  that  it  was  unwork- 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     107 

able,  they  were  not  dispirited,  but  rather  became 
more  intense  in  their  meditations,  and  ingenious 
as  well  as  hopeful  in  their  devisings. 

"  If  we  could  only  git  hold  of  a  file  to  cut  a 
bar  o'  the  winder  with,  an'  a  rope  to  let.  our- 
selves down  with,  I  think  we  could  manage  to 
git  over  the  walls  somehow." 

"  If  we  was  to  tear  our  jackets,  trousers, 
vests,  and  shirts  into  stripes,  an'  make  a  rope 
of  'em,  it  might  be  long  enough,"  suggested  Bill. 

"  That 's  so,  boy,  but  as  we  would  be  stark 
naked  before  we  got  it  finished,  I  fear  the 
turnkey  would  suspec'  there  wos  somethin' 
wrong  somehow." 

Ben  Bolter  sighed  deeply  as  he  spoke,  be- 
cause at  that  moment  a  ray  of  sunshine  shot 
through  the  little  v/indow,  and  brought  the  free 
fresh  air  and  the  broad  blue  sea  vividly  to 
his  remembrance.  For  the  first  time  he  ex- 
perienced a  deep  sinking  of  the  heart,  and  he 
looked  at  his  comrade  with  an  expression  of 
something  like  despair. 

"Cheer  up,"  said  Bill,  observing  and 
thoroughly  understanding  the  look.  "Never 
say  die,  as  long  as  there 's  a — shot — in — " 

He  was  too  much  depressed  and  listless  to 
finish  the  sentence. 

"  I  wonder,"  resumed  Ben,  "  if  the  Mounseers 
treat  all  their  prisoners  of  war  as  bad  as  they 
treat  us." 


108 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


«  Don't  think  they  do,"  replied  Bill.  "  I  Vg 
no  doubt  it 's  'cause  we  sarved  'em  as  we  did 
when  they  first  put  us  in  quod," 

"  Oh,  if  they  would  only  give  us  summat  to 
do ! "  exclaimed  Ben,  with  sudden  vehemence. 

It  seemed  as  if  the  poor  fellow's  prayer  were 
directly  answered,  for  at  that  moment  the  door 
opened,  and  the  governor,  or  some  other  official 
of  the  prison,  entered  the  cell. 

"  You  must  vork,"  he  said,  going  up  to  Bill. 

"  We  '11  be  only  too  glad  to  work,  yer  honour, 
if  you  '11  give  us  work  to  do." 

"  Ver'  good  ;  fat  can  you  vork  f 

"  We  can  turn  handy  to  a'most  anything,  yer 
honour,"  said  Ben  eagerly. 

It  turned  out,  however,  after  a  considerable 
amount  of  talk,  that,  beyond  steering  a  ship, 
reefing  topsails,  splicing  ropes,  tying  every 
species  of  complex  knot,  and  other  nautical 
matters,  the  two  seamen  could  not  claim  to  be 
professionally  acquainted  with  any  sort  of 
handicraft.  Somewhat  discomfited,  Ben  at  last 
said  with  a  perplexed  air — 

"Well,  yer  honour,  we'll  try  anything  ye 
choose  to  put  us  at.  I  had  a  brother  once  who 
was  a  sort  of  tinker  to  trade,  an'  great  at 
mendin'  pots,  pans,  old  umbrellas,  and  the  like. 
I  wos  used  to  help  him  when  a  boy.  P'r'aps  if 
yer  honour,  now,  has  got  a  old  umbrella  as  wants 
refittin',  I  might  try  my  hand  on  that." 


THE  BATTLE  AND  TEE  BKEEZE.     lOD 

The  governor  smiled.  "Yell,  I  do  tink  I  have 
von  old  omberilla.  You  sail  try  for  to  mend  him." 

Next  day  saw  Bill  and  Ben  surrounded  by 
tools,  scraps  of  wood  and  whalebone,  bits  of 
brass  and  tin,  etc.,  busy  as  bees,  and  as  happy  as 
any  two  children  who  have  invented  a  new  game. 

Ben  mended  the  umbrella  admirably.  At 
the  same  time.  Bill  fashioned  and  carved  two 
or  three  paper-knives  of  wood  with  great  neat- 
ness. But  when  it  was  discovered  that  they 
could  sew  sail-cloth  expeditiously  and  well,  a 
quantity  of  that  material  was  given  to  them, 
and  they  were  ordered  to  make  sacks.  They 
set  to  work  accordingly,  and  made  sack  after 
sack  until  they  grew  so  wearied  of  the  mono- 
tonous work  that  Ben  said  it  made  him  wish 
to  sit  down  in  sackcloth  and  ashes ;  whereupon 
Bill  remarked  that  if  the  Mounseers  would 
only  give  them  the  sack  altogether,  it  would 
be  very  much  to  their  credit. 

Soon  the  imprisoned  mariners  began  again 
to  plot  and  plan  their  escape.  Of  course  they 
thought  of  making  ropes  of  the  sailcloth  and 
tAvine  with  Avhich  they  wrought,  but  as  the 
turnkey  took  the  material  away  every  night, 
and  brought  it  back  every  morning,  they  gave 
up  this  idea,  as  they  had  given  up  many  other 
ideas  before. 

At  last,  one  afternoon,  Bill  looked  up  from 
his  work,  hit  his  thigh  a  slap  which  produced 


110 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


a  pistol-shot  crack  that  echoed  up  into  the  high 
ceiling  of  the  cell,  as  he  exclaimed, "  I  've  got  it! " 

"  I  hope  you  '11  give  us  a  bit  of  it,  then,"  said 
Ben,  "  if  it 's  worth  havin'." 

"  I  '11  give  you  the  benefit  of  it,  anyhow," 
said  Bill,  throwing  down  his  tools  and  eagerly 
beginning  to  expound  the  new  plan  which  had 
struck  him  and  caused  him  to  strike  his  thigh. 
It  was  to  this  effect : — 

-  That  they  should  beg  the  turnkey  to  let 
them  have  another  old  umbrella  to  work  at 
by  way  of  recreation,  as  the  sack-making  was 
rather  monotonous;  that,  if  they  should  be 
successful  in  prevailing  on  him  to  grant  their 
request,  they  should  work  at  the  umbrella  very 
slowly,  so  as  to  give  them  time  to  carry  out 
their  plan,  which  was  to  form  a  sort  of  para- 
chute by  adding  sailcloth  round  the  margin  of 
the  umbrella  so  as  to  extend  it  to  twice  its 
circumference.  After  it  should  be  finished 
they  were  to  seize  a  fitting  opportunity,  cut  the 
bars  of  their  window,  and,  with  the  machine, 
leap  down  into  the  yard  below. 

"Wot!"  exclaimed  Ben,  "jump  together!" 

"  Ay,  why  not,  Ben  1  Sink  or  swim  together, 
boy." 

"  Very  true,  but  I  've  got  my  doubts  about 
flyin'  together.  Better  do  it  one  at  a  time,  and 
send  the  umbrella  up  by  means  of  a  piece  of 
t^vine." 


THE  BATILE  AND  THE  BEEEZE.     Ill 

"  Well,  we  might  do  it  in  that  way,"  said 
Bill;  "but  what  d'ee  think  o'  the  plan?" 

"  Fuss  rate,"  said  Ben, "  we  '11  try  it  at  once." 

In  accordance  with  this  resolution,  Ben  made 
his  petition  that  night,  very  humbly,  to  the 
turnkey,  who  at  first  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  him, 
but  was  finally  prevailed  on  to  fetch  them  one 
of  his  own  umbrellas  to  be  repaired.  It  hap- 
pened to  be  a  very  large  one  of  the  good  old 
stout  and  bulgy  make,  and  in  this  respect  was 
the  better  suited  to  their  purpose.  All  the 
tools  necessary  for  the  work  of  repair  were 
supplied  except  a  file.  This,  however,  was 
brought  to  them,  when  Ben  pointed  out,  with 
much  earnestness,  that  if  he  had  such  an  im- 
plement he  could  clean  up  and  beautify  the 
ivory  handle  to  such  an  extent  that  its  owner 
would  not  recognise  it. 

This  device  of  improving  the  ivory  handle 
turned  out  to  be  a  happy  hit,  for  it  enabled 
Ben  to  keep  the  umbrella  much  longer  by  him 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible,  for 
the  purpose  of  covering  it  with  elaborate  and 
really  beautiful  carving,  the  progress  of  which 
was  watched  by  the  turnkey  with  much  interest 
from  day  to  day. 

Having  gained  their  end  the  sailors  wrought, 
with  indefatigable  zeal,  and  resolutely  overcame 
the  difficulties  that  met  them  from  time  to 
time.     Each  day  they  dragged  the  bench  under 


112 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


the  window.  Ben  got  upon  it,  and  Bill 
climbed  on  his  shoulders,  by  which  means  he 
could  just  reach  tlie  iron  grating  of  the 
window,  and  there,  for  half  an  hour  at  a  time, 
he  cautiously  used  the  file.  They  thought  this 
enough  of  time  to  bestow  on  the  work,  because 
the  bars  could  be  easily  filed  through  before 
the  parachute  was  ready. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  umbrella,  the  first 
difficulty  that  met  them  was  how  they  were  to 
conceal  their  private  work  when  the  turnkey 
came  in  the  evenings  to  take  away  their 
materials  for  sack-making.  After  some  ex- 
amination they  discovered  a  plank  in  the  floor, 
in  the  corner  where  they  were  wont  to  sleep, 
which  was  loose  and  easily  forced  up  with  one 
of  Bill's  unfinished  paper-knives,  which  he 
made  very  strong  for  this  special  purpose ! 
Beneath  there  was  sufiicient  room  to  stow  away 
the  cloth  with  which  they  fashioned  the  addi- 
tional breadth  to  the  umbrella.  To  have 
cabbaged  at  one  time  all  the  sail-cloth  that 
was  required  would  have  risked  discovery; 
they  therefore  appropriated  small  scraps  each 
day,  and  sewed  these  neatly  together  until 
they  had  enough.  Soon  they  had  a  ring  of 
canvas  formed,  into  the  centre  of  which  the 
umbrella  fitted  exactly,  and  this  ring  was  so 
cut  and  sewn  in  gores  that  it  formed  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  umbrella,  which  was  thus  made 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     113 

to  spread  out  and  cover  a  space  of  about  nine 
or  ten  feet  in  diameter.  All  round  the  ex- 
tremity or  margin  of  the  ring,  cords  of  twisted 
t\vine  were  fixed,  at  intervals  of  about  six 
inches.  There  were  about  sixty  of  these  cords 
or  stays,  all  of  which  met  and  were  fastened  at 
the  end  of  the  handle.  A  stout  line,  made  of 
four-ply  twine,  was  fastened  at  the  top  of  the 
umbrella,  and  passing  through  a  small  hole  in 
it  was  tied  round  the  whalebones  inside, 
and  twisted  down  the  stick  to  the  handle,  to 
which  it  was  firmly  secured.  By  this  means 
tlie  whole  machine  was,  as  it  were,  bound 
together. 

All  these  additions  and  fixings  had,  however, 
to  be  so  constructed  that  they  could  be  removed, 
or  aflSxed  with  some  rapidity,  for  there  was 
always  before  the  saUors  the  chance  that  the 
turnkey  might  look  in  to  observe  how  their 
work  was  progressing. 

Indeed  one  afternoon  they  were  almost  dis- 
covered at  work  on  the  parachute.  The  turn- 
key was  heard  coming  along  the  passage  when 
Ben  was  in  the  act  of  fitting  on  the  new 
appendages,  and  the  key  was  actually  in  the 
door  before  the  last  shred  of  them  was  thrust 
into  the  hole  in  the  floor,  and  the  loose  planh 
shut  down  !  Ben  immediately  flung  several  ol 
the  sacks  over  the  place,  and  then  turning 
suddenly  round  on  his  comrade  began  to  pom- 


U. 


ill:         THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

mel  him  soundly  by  way  of  accounting  for  the 
flushed  condition  of  his  countenance. 

Thus  taken  by  surprise,  Bill  returned  the 
blows  with  interest,  and  tlie  combatants  were 
separated  by  the  turnkey  when  in  a  rather 
breathless  condition ! 

"  If  you  do  so  more  agin,  you  sail  go  separ- 
ate," said  the  turnkey. 

The  mere  thought  of  separation  at  such  a 
moment  struck  like  a  chill  to  the  hearts  of  the 
sailors,  who  forthwith  shook  hands,  and  vowed 
earnestly  that  they  would  "  never  do  it  again." 
In  order  to  conciliate  the  man,  Ben  took  up 
the  umbrella,  and  pointing  to  the  beautifully 
carved  handle  said — 

'*  You  see  it 's  all  but  finished,  and  I  'm  very 
anxious  to  git  it  done,  so  if  you  '11  let  me  keep 
it  by  me  all  to-night,  I  '11  work  as  long  as  I 
can  see,  and  be  at  it  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning." 

The  man,  pleased  at  the  unusual  interest 
which  Ben  took  in  the  worn-out  piece  of  goods, 
agreed  to  let  him  keep  it  by  him.  After 
carrying  away  all  the  other  materials,  and 
looking  round  to  see  that  all  was  right,  he 
locked  them  up  for  the  night. 

Left  to  themselves,  they  at  once  began  to 
prepare  for  action.  They  drew  forth  all  the 
different  parts  of  the  parachute  (for  such  it 
really  W3«,  although  the  machine  so  named  had 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.    115 

never  been  seen,  but  only  heard  of,  by  the  sea- 
men), and  disposed  them  in  such  a  manner  beside 
the  hole  in  the  floor  as  to  be  ready  at  a  moment's 
notice,  either  to  be  fitted  on  to  the  umbrella  or 
thrust  back  into  the  place  of  concealment. 

Their  manacles  had  been  taken  off  at  the 
time  they  began  to  work,  so  that  these  -were 
no  longer  impediments  in  the  way. 

"  Now,  Bill,  are  the  bars  sure  to  give  way, 
d'ye  think]" 

"  Sartin  sure,"  said  Bill ;  "  they  're  holdin' 
by  nothin'  thicker  than  a  pin." 

"  Very  good,  then,  let 's  go  to  work.  In  an 
hour  or  so  it  Avill  be  dark  enough  to  try  our 
flyin'  machine,  and  then  good-bye  to  France 
—or  to  the  world.     It 's  neck  or  nothin',  d'  ye 


see." 


"  All  right,"  answered  Bill. 

They  sat  down  to  work  in  good  earnest. 
The  spreading  rim  of  canvas,  instead  of  being 
tagged-  on  as  on  former  occasions,  was  now 
sewn  securely  to  the  umbrella,  and  when  the 
latter  was  expanded,  the  canvas  hung  down 
all  round  it,  and  the  numerous  stays  hung 
quite  loose.  Ben  expected  that  the  rapidity 
of  the  descent  Avould  suddenly  expand  this 
appendage,  and  check  the  speed.  Tlie  ends  of 
the  loose  cords  were  gathered  up  and  fastened 
to  the  handle,  as  was  also  the  binding-cord 
before  referred  to — all  of  which  was  done  with 


116    THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

that  thoroughness  of  workmanship  for  which 
sailors  are  celebrated. 

Then  a  stout  cord  was  fastened  to  one  of 
the  stanchions  of  the  window,  which  had  been 
left  uncut  for  the  purpose. 

When  everything  was  ready  the  adventurous 
sailors  began  to  experience  all  the  anxiety 
which  is  inseparable  from  an  action  involving 
much  danger,  liabiHty  to  frustration,  and  requir- 
ing the  utmost  caution  combined  with  energy. 

They  waited  until  they  thought  the  night 
was  at  its  darkest.  When  all  sounds  around 
them  had  ceased,  they  took  off  their  shoes  and 
carefully  lifted  the  bench  to  the  wall  under  the 
window.  Ben  went  up  first  by  mounting  on 
Bill's  shoulders.  With  one  powerful  ^vrench  he 
pulled  the  iron  framework  of  the  window  into 
the  room,  and  handed  it  down  to  Bill,  who 
stooped  a  little  and  placed  it  gently  against 
the  wall.  His  comrade  then  thrust  his  head 
and  shoulders  out  at  the  window,  and  while 
in  that  awkward  position  s«pread  his  jacket 
over  the  silL  This  was  intended  to  protect 
the  cord  which  was  fastened  to  the  top  of  the 
umbrella,  and  by  which  it  was  to  be  drawn  up 
after  his  descent. 

"When  this  was  done,  Bill  clambered  up  by 
the  cord  which  hung  from  the  uncut  stanchion, 
and  pushed  the  umbrella  past  Ben's  body 
until  he  got  hold  of  the  end  of  it,  and  drew  it 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE.    117 

out  altogether.  Bill  then  descended  into  the 
cell,  having  the  small  cord  in  his  hand,  and 
watched  the  motions  of  his  comrade  with 
intense  anxiety. 

The  window  was  so  small  that  Ben  could 
barely  get  his  head  and  shoulders  through  it. 
There  was  no  possibility  of  his  getting  on  his 
feet  or  his  knees  to  make  a  leap.  The  only 
course  that  remained  for  him,  therefore,  was 
to  expand  the  umbrella,  hold  on  tight,  and  then 
wriggle  out  until  he  should  lose  his  balance  and 
fall  head  foremost !  It  was  an  awful  position. 
Bold  though  the  seaman  was,  and  desperate 
the  circumstances,  his  strong  frame  quivered 
when  he  gazed  do-vvn  and  felt  himself  gradually 
toppling.  The  height  he  knew  to  be  little 
short  of  sixty  feet,  but  in  the  dark  night  it 
appeared  an  abyss  of  horrible  profundity.  A 
cold  sweat  broke  out  upon  him,  and  for  one 
moment  he  felt  an  almost  irresistible  tendency 
to  let  go  the  umbrella  and  clutch  the  window- 
sill,  but  he  was  too  late.  Like  lightning  he 
shot  down  for  a  couple  of  yards;  then  the 
parachute  expanded  and  checked  him  with 
such  violence,  as  he  swung  round,  that  he  nearly 
lost  his  hold  and  was  thrown  into  a  horizontal 
position — first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other. 
Finally,  he  reached  the  ground  with  a  shock 
that  almost  took  away  his  breath.  He  sat  still 
for  a  moment  or  two,  then  rose  slowly  and 

2n 


118  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

shook  himself,  to  ascertain  whether  he  were 
still  alive  and  sound !  Immediately  after  he 
examined  the  parachute,  found  it  all  right,  and 
gave  his  comrade  the  signal — a  couple  of  tugs 
at  the  cord — to  haul  up. 

BiU  was  scarcely  less  agitated  than  his 
friend.  He  had  seen  Ben's  legs  disappear  with  a 
suddenness  that  told  eloquently  of  his  having 
taken  flight,  and  stood  in  the  cell  above  listen- 
ing intently,  while  large  drops  of  perspiration 
coursed  down  his  face.  On  feeling  the  tug  at 
the  string,  a  mountain  appeared  to  be  lifted  off 
his  chest.  Carefully  he  pulled  up  the  umbrella. 
When  it  showed  its  point  above  the  window- 
sill  he  clambered  up  and  went  through  the 
same  terrible  ordeal.  He  was  not,  however,  so 
fortunate  as  his  friend,  for,  when  he  jiViped, 
three  of  the  stays  gave  way,  which  had  the 
effect  of  slightly  deranging  the  motion  of  the 
umbrella,  and  he  came  to  the  ground  with  such 
violence  that  he  lay  stunned  and  motionless, 
leading  his  horrified  comrade  to  fear  that  he 
was  killed.  In  a  few  minutes,  however,  he  re- 
vived, and,  on  examination,  found  tliat  no 
bones  had  been  broken, 

"  Now,  Ben,  what  next  1"  said  Bill,  getting 
up,  and  giving  himself  a  shake. 

"  The  wall,"  said  Ben,  "  can't  be  far  from 
where  we  stand.  If  there  wos  only  a  bit  of 
moonshine  it  would  help  us." 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BEEEZE.    119 

**  Better  as  it  is,"  whispered  Bill,  groping 
about,  for  the  night  was  so  intensely  dark  that 
it  was  scarcely  possible  to  see  a  yard.  "  I 
knows  the  way  to  the  harbour,  if  we  only 
manage  to  get  out. — Ah,  here 's  the  wall,  but 
it 's  an  onconunon  high  one ! " 

This  was  indeed  too  true.  The  top  of  the 
wall  was  faintly  visible  lilce  a  bLick  Hne  across 
the  dark  sky,  and  when  Ben  mounted  on  Bill's 
shoulders,  it  was  found  that  he  could  only  reach 
to  within  three  feet  of  the  bristling  iron  spikes 
with  which  it  was  surmounted.  For  half-an- 
hour  they  groped  about,  and  made  the  dis- 
covery that  they  were  in  a  small  enclosure  with 
bare  walls  of  fifteen  feet  in  height  around  them, 
and  not  a  projection  of  any  kind  large  enough 
for  a  mouse  to  lay  hold  of!  In  these  circum- 
stances many  men  would  have  given  way  to 
despair ;  but  that  was  a  condition  of  mind 
which  neither  of  our  tars  ever  thought  of  fall- 
ing into.  In  the  course  of  their  explorations 
they  came  against  each  other,  and  immediately 
began  an  animated  conversation  in  whispers, 
the  result  of  which  was  that  they  groped  for 
the  umbrella,  and,  having  found  it,  cut  off  all 
the  cords  about  it,  with  which  they  proceeded 
to  plait  a  rope  strong  enough  to  bear  their 
weight.  They  sat  down  in  silence  to  the  work, 
leaning  against  the  prison  waU,  and  wrought 
for  a   full    hour  with    the    diligence    of  men 


120 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 


whose  freedom  depends  on  their  efforts. 
When  finished,  the  rope  was  found  to  be  about 
a  yard  too  short  for  their  purpose ;  but  this 
defect  was  remedied  by  means  of  the  canvas  of 
their  parachute,  which  they  tore  up  into  stripes, 
twisted  into  an  additional  piece  of  rope,  and 
spliced  it  to  the  other.  A  large  loop  was  made 
on  the  end  of  it.  Going  once  more  to  the 
wall,  Ben  mounted  on  BUl's  shoulders,  and 
tlirew  the  loop  ever  the  top  of  the  wall ;  it 
caught,  as  had  been  expected,  on  one  of  the 
iron  spikes.  Ben  then  easily  hauled  himself 
up,  hand  over  hand,  and,  getting  hold  of  two 
spikes,  raised  himself  so  that  he  could  see  over 
the  wall.     Immediately  after  he  descended. 

"  I  sees  nothin',  BiU,  so  we  must  just  go  over 
and  take  our  chance." 

BiU  agreed.  Ben  folded  his  coat,  and 
ascending  again,  spread  it  over  the  spikes,  so 
that  he  could  lean  on  them  with  his  chest 
without  being  pierced.  Having  re-ascended, 
Bill  followed ;  the  rope  was  then  hauled  up,  and 
lowered  on  the  other  side.  In  another  moment 
they  slipped  down,  and  stood  on  the  ground. 

"  Now,  the  question  is,  where  are  we ! " 
whispered  Bill.  "  P'raps  we  're  only  in  another 
yard  after  all." 

The  sound  of  footsteps  pacing  slowly  to- 
wards them  was  heard  at  that  moment." 

"  I  do  believe,"  whispered  Bill,  in  an  excited 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.    121 

tone,  "  that  we  've  got  into  the  street,  an'  that 's 
the  sentry.     Let 's  bolt." 

"  We  can't  bolt,"  said  Ben,  "  'cause,  if  I  took 
my  bearin's  right,  he's  between  us  an'  the 
shore,  an'  it  would  be  of  no  manner  o'  use 
boltin'  into  the  country  to  be  hunted  down 
like  a  couple  of  foxes." 

"Then  we'll  floor  him  to  begin  with," 
whispered  Bill. 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Ben. 

The  sentry  approached,  and  the  sailors  drew 
up  close  against  the  wall.  Presently  his  dark 
form  became  faintly  visible.  Bill  rushed  at 
him  at  once,  and  delivered  a  blow  that  might 
have  felled  an  ox  at  the  spot  where  he  sup- 
posed his  chest  was,  sending  the  man  back 
almost  heels  over  head,  while  his  arms  rattled 
on  the  pavement.  Instantly  there  were  heard 
the  sounds  of  opening  locks,  bolts,  and  bars. 
The  two  friends  fled,  and  shouts  were  heard 
behind  them,  while  lights  flashed  in  various 
directions. 

"  This  way.  Bill,"  cried  Ben,  turning  down 
a  narrow  lane  to  avoid  a  lamp  which  came  in 
sight  when  they  turned  a  corner.  A  couple  of 
belated  and  drunken  French  fishermen  hap- 
pened to  observe  them,  and  gave  chase.  "  Hold 
on,  Ben,  let 's  drop,  and  tiip  'em  up,"  said  Bill 

"  All  right,"  replied  Ben  ;  "  down  with  ee." 

They  stopped  suddenly,  and  squatted  as  low 


122 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


as  possible.  The  lane  was  very  narrow  ;  the 
fishermen  were  close  behind  ;  they  tumbled 
right  over  them,  and  fell  heavily  on  their  faces. 
While  they  were  rising,  our  heroes  knocked 
them  both  insensible,  and  hastily  appropriating 
their  coats  and  red  caps  put  them  on  as  they 
ran.  By  this  time  a  crowd  of  fishermen, 
sailors,  and  others,  among  whom  were  a  few 
soldiers  and  turnkeys  with  lanterns,  were  pur- 
suing the  fugitives  as  fast  as  Avas  possible  in  so 
dark  a  night.  Bill  suggested  that  they  should 
turn  into  a  dark  corner,  and  dodge  them.  The 
suggestion  was  acted  on  at  once.  They  dashed 
round  the  first  corner  they  came  to,  and  then, 
instead  of  continuing  their  flight,  turned  sharp 
to  the  left,  and  hid  in  a  doorway.  The  pur- 
suers came  pouring  round  the  corner,  shouting 
■wildly.  When  the  thickest  of  the  crowd  was 
opposite  their  place  of  concealment.  Bill  and 
Ben  rushed  into  the  midst  of  them  with  a 
shout,  imitating  the  tones  of  the  Frenchmen  as 
nearly  as  possible,  but  taking  care  to  avoid  the 
use  of  words,  and  thus  they  joined  in  the  pur- 
suit! Gradually  they  fell  behind,  as  if  out- 
run, and,  when  they  found  themselves  in  rear, 
turned  about,  and  made  off  in  the  opposite 
direction,  then,  diverging  to  the  left,  they 
headed  again  towards  the  shore,  ran  down  to 
the  beach,  and  leaped  into  the  first  boat  they 
came  to. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE.     123 

It  happened  to  be  a  very  small  one, — a  sort 
of  dingy.  Ben  thought  it  was  too  small,  and 
was  about  to  leap  out  and  search  for  a  larger, 
when  lights  suddenly  appeared,  and  the  shouts 
of  the  pursuers — who  had  discovered  the  ruse 
— were  heard  as  they  approached. 

"Shoveoff,  Ben!" 

"  Hurrah,  my  hearties  ! "  cried  the  seaman 
with  a  stentorian  shout  as  he  seized  an  oar. 

Next  moment  the  little  boat  was  flying  over 
the  smooth  water  of  the  port,  the  silence  of 
which  was  now  broken  by  exclamations  and 
cries  from  the  shipping  in  reply  to  those  from 
the  shore ;  while  the  splashing  of  oars  were 
heard  in  all  directions  as  men  leaped  into  boats 
and  rowed  about  at  random.  Darkness  favoured 
the  Englishmen,  but  it  also  proved  the  cause  of 
their  being  very  nearly  re-captured  ;  for  they 
were  within  two  yards  of  the  battery  at  the 
mouth  of  the  harbour  before  they  observed  it, 
and  swerved  aside  just  in  time  to  avoid  a  col- 
lision. But  they  had  been  seen,  and  a  random 
discharge  of  musketry  followed.  Tliis  was 
succeeded  by  the  sudden  blaze  of  a  blue  light, 
which  revealed  the  whole  port  swarming  with 
boats  and  armed  men, — a  sight  which  acted  so 
powerfully  on  the  warlike  spirits  of  the  sailors 
that  they  started  up  simultaneously,  flung  their 
red  caps  into  the  air,  and  gave  vent  to  a  hearty 
British  cheer,  which  Ben  Bolter  followed  up 


124 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE. 


as  they  resumed  the  oars,  with  "  Old  England 
for  ever  !  farewell,  Mounseers  ! " 

The  blue  light  went  out  and  left  everything 
in  darkness  thicker  than  ever,  but  not  before 
a  rapid  though  ineffective  discharge  of  mus- 
ketry had  been  made  from  the  battery.  An- 
other blue  light,  however,  showed  that  the 
fugitives  were  getting  rapidly  out  to  sea  be- 
yond the  range  of  musketry,  and  that  boats 
were  lea^sdng  the  port  in  chase.  Before  the 
light  expired  a  cloud  of  smoke  burst  from  the 
battery,  and  the  roar  of  a  heavy  gun  rushed 
over  the  sea.  An  instant  later  and  the  water 
was  torn  up  by  grape-shot  all  round  the  little 
boat ;  but  not  a  ball  touched  them  save  one, 
which  struck  BUI  Bowls  on  the  left  hand  and 
cut  oif  his  thumb. 

"  I  think  there 's  a  mast  and  sail  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  and  here  comes  a  breeze," 
said  Ben ;  "  give  me  your  oar,  and  try  to  hoist 
it.  Bill." 

Without  mentioning  liis  wound,  our  hero 
did  as  he  was  bid ;  and  not  until  the  boat  was 
leaping  over  the  ruffled  sea  did  he  condescend 
to  bind  up  the  wounded  hand  with  his  necktie. 
Soon  they  were  beyond  the  range  of  blue  lights 
and  artillery. 

"Have  ee  any  notion  what  course  we're 
steerin'  1"  inquired  Bill. 

"  None  wotsomediver,"  answered  Ben. 


THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BKEEZE.     125 

Soon  after  that,  however,  the  sky  cleared  a 
little,  and  Bill  got  sight  of  part  of  the  constel- 
lation of  the  Great  Bear.  Although  the  pole- 
star  was  not  visible,  he  guessed  pretty  nearly 
its  position,  and  thus  ascertained  that  the 
breeze  came  from  the  south-west.  Trimming 
the  lug-sail  accordingly,  the  tars  turned  the 
prow  of  the  little  craft  to  the  northward,  and 
steered  for  the  shores  of  old  England. 

*  *  *  « 

About  a  year  after  this  stirring  incident,  a 
remarkably  noisy  party  was  assembled  at  tea  in 
the  prim  little  parlour  of  Mrs.  Blyth's  cottage 
in  Fairway.  Besides  the  meek  old  soul  herself, 
there  were  present  on  that  occasion  our  old 
fi-iends  Ben  Bolter  and  Tom  Riggles,  the  latter 
of  whom  flourished  a  wooden  stump  instead  of 
a  right  leg,  and  wore  the  garb  of  a  Greenwich 
pensioner.  His  change  of  circumstances  did 
not  appear  to  have  decreased  his  love  for  tobacco. 
Ben  had  obtained  leave  of  absence  from  his 
ship  for  a  day  or  two,  and,  after  having  de- 
lighted the  heart  of  his  old  mother  by  a  visit, 
had  called  at  the  cottage  to  pay  his  respects  to 
his  old  messmate,  little  thinking  that  he  would 
find  Tom  Biggies  there  before  him.  Miss 
Bessy  Blunt  was  also  present ;  and  it  was  plain, 
from  the  expression  of  her  speaking  counte- 
nance, that  she  had  not  forgiven  Ben,  but 
tolerated  him  under  protest.   Our  hero  and  sweet 


126  THE  BATTLE  AND  THE  BREEZE. 

Nelly  Blyth  were  not  of  the  party,  however, 
because  they  happened  just  then  to  prefer  a 
quiet  chat  in  the  summer-house  in  the  back 
garden.  We  will  not  presume  to  detail  much 
of  tlie  conversation  that  passed  between  them. 
One  or  two  of  the  concluding  sentences  must 
suffice. 

"Yes,  BiU,"  said  Nelly,  in  reply  to  some- 
thing that  her  companion  had  whispered  in 
her  ear,  "you  know  well  enough  that  I  am 
glad  to-morrow  is  our  wedding-day.-  I  have 
told  you  so  already,  fifty  times  at  least." 

"Only  thrice,  Nell,  if  so  often,"  said  Bill 
"  Well,  that  was  the  luckiest  shot  the  French- 
men ever  fired  at  me  ;  for  if  I  hadn't  had  my 
thumb  took  off  I  couldn't  have  left  the  sarvice, 
d'  ye  see ;  and  that  would  have  delayed  my 
marriage  with  you,  Nell  But  now,  as  the 
old  song  says — 

'  No  more  I  '11  roam 
Away  from  home, 

Across  the  stormy  sea. 
I  '11  anchor  here, 
My  Nelly  dear, 

And  live  for  love  and  thee.'  " 


KDINBUROH  :   T.  CONSTABLE, 
PRINT«in  TO  THE  QUEEN,  AND  TO  THE  UNIVERSITT. 


WORKS   BY   THE   SAME   AUTHOR. 

I. 

Crown  8vo,  5s.,  Cloth, 

BLACK    IVORY: 
A  Tale  of  Adventure  among  the  Slavers  of  East  Africa. 


II. 

Crown  8vo,  5s.,  Cloth. 

THE   NORSEMEN    IN   THE  WEST; 
Or,  America  before  Columbus.    With  Illustrations. 

"  This  thoroughly  delightful  book  is  an  adaptation  of  the  Saga  of 
Iceland,  and  also  of  Mr.  Laing's  '  Heimskringla ;  or,  Chronicles  of  tlie  Kings 
of  Norway,'  supplemented  by  Mr.  Ballantyne's  own  experience  and  adventures 
in  the  wildernesses  of  America  !  These  ingredients  are  put  together  witli  the 
skill  and  spirit  of  an  accomplished  story-teller;  and  the  result  is,  a  book 
that  cannot  possibly  be  laid  down  till  the  very  last  word  of  the  last  line  has 
been  read." — AthencEum. 

"  Mr.  Ballantyne  is  a  conscientious  writer,  who  does  not  rely  on  iniaginar 
tion  when  facts  are  to  be  had,  and  who  has  taken  tlie  trouble  to  get  up  the 
old  sagas  that  tell  of  the  discovery  of  Greenland,  and  Vinland,  and  Markland 
before  he  writes  about  it." — Guardian. 

"There  is  abundant  action  in  the  story;  marvellous  accounts  of  wonder- 
ful escitpes,  of  adventures  with  natives,  and  all  kinds  of  dangers.  This  is 
not  done  in  a  rough,  unskilful  way,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  certain  to 
attract  the  attention  of  boys,  and  to  interest  them  thoroughly." — Scotsman. 

"A  tale  told  with  all  the  author's  wonted  spirit,  and  calculated  to  convey 
instruction  of  a  valuable  kind,  as  well  as  to  afford  much  pleasui-e  to  the  young 
reader." — Daily  News. 


III. 

Croicn  Svo,  5s.,  Cloth. 

THE    IRON    HORSE; 
Or,  Life  on  the  Line.     A  Railv/ay  Tale.    With  Illustrations. 

"A  captivating  book  for  boys." — Guardian. 

"  A  most  engaging  tale,  in  which  there  is  also  a  substratum  of  very  useful 
practical  information." — Inverness  Courier. 

"To  those  anxious  to  become  acquainted  with  tho  inner  workings  of  th« 
great  railway  systems  of  the  country,  the  work  before  ufl  wUl  form  an  in- 
valuable &id."— Aberdeen  Herald. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


"There  is  no  vocation  in  life,  however  seemingly  prosaic,  but  Mr. 
BaDantyne  can  mark  whatever  little  of  the  picturesque  enters  into  it,  and 
turn  the  same  to  good  account.  There  is  much  more  skill  i-equired  in 
the  management  of  a  locomotive  than  most  people  are  aware  of,  and  in  this 
'  Tale  of  the  Grand  National  Trunk  Railway'  boys  will  obtain  an  insight  into 
the  working  of  an  engine,  and  the  life  of  those  connected  with  it,  that  they 
may  never  have  an  opportunity  of  realizing  otherwise.  Mr.  Ballantyne  is 
professional  and  practical  as  well  as  picturesque,  and  never  fails  to  be  droll 
also  when  there  is  a  good  oi^portunity."  Inverness  Courier. 


TV. 

Crown  Si'o,  5s.,  Cloth. 


ERLING    THE    BOLD: 
A  Tale  of  the  Norse  Sea  Kings.    "With  Illustrations. 

"A  capital  tale  of  the  Norse  Sea  Kings."—  Times. 

"The  tale  itself  is  deeply  interesting,  and  evidently  founded  on  a  diligent 
study  of  noi'them  literature."— iiecori^. 

"The  story  is  interesting  and  full  of  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field, 
and  it  will  therefore  scarcely  fail  to  be  popular  among  lads  " — Scotsman. 

"  This  story  is  written  in  Mr.  Ballantyne's  best  style.  It  is  fresh,  vigorous, 
and  full  of  adventure  ;  while  a  great  deal  of  knowledge  on  subjects  too  little 
known  is  given  in  a  genuinely  popular  style." — Edinburgh  Coarant. 

"A  story  from  Mr.  BallantjTie  is  one  of  the  pleasures  which  many  hundreds 
of  English   schoolboys   have   come  to  regard  as  among  the   institutions  of 

Christmas  holidays The  author  of  '  Erling  the  Bold'  lays  before 

his  admirers  a  tale  which  will  satisfy  them  that  Ms  brain  and  hand  have  lost 

none  of  their  quickness    and   cunning The    stoiy  is    cleverly 

designed,  and  abounds  with  elements  of  romantic  interest;  and  the  author's 
illustrations  are  scarcely  less  vigorous  than  his  text." — Athenaeum. 


V. 

Crown  8vo,  5s.,  ClotJi, 

FIGHTING    THE    FLAMES: 

A  Tale  of  the  London  Fire  Brigade.     With  Illustrations. 

"  This  is  one  of  those  spirited,  stirring  stories,  full  of  interest,  instinct  with 
brave  and  manly  sentiment,  in  which  boys  delight,  and  in  which  Mr.  Ballantyne 
has  few  equals.  .  .  .  Possessing  great  interest  as  a  tale,  it  is  more  valuable 
still  because  of  the  lessons  of  courage,  endurance,  and  self-sacrifice  which  it 
inculcates. " — Nonconformist. 

"  Many  a  schoolboy  will  find  keen  enjoyment  in  the  perusal  of  '  Fighting 
the  Flames,'  and  assure  his  little  sisters  with  suitable  emphasis  that  Mr. 
Ballantyne  is  'a.  stunning  good  story-teller.'  " — Athenceum. 

"  A  well-told  and  interesting  story." — Scotsman. 


WOBKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


"  Those  who  value  the  welfare  of  the  young  and  rising  generation  ought  to 
encourage  the  circulation  of  such  healthy  works  as  this.  .  .  .  The  moral,  or 
rather  religious  tone  of  the  book  is  decided  and  lofty,  although  there  is  little 
or  no  sermonizing." — Edinburgh  Evening  Courant. 

"  We  commend  this  capital  story.  ...  It  is  full  of  interest  from  the  first 
page  to  the  last,  and  is  likely  to  incite  not  only  an  enterprising  spirit,  but  a 
healthy,  brave,  and  couiageous  one." — Victoria  Magazine. 


VI. 

Crown  Sivo,  5s.,  Cloth. 

DEEP    DOWN: 
A  Tale  of  the  Cornish  Mines.    With  Illustrations. 

"  Mr.  Ballantyne  always  accomplishes  in  a  creditable  manner  the  thing  that 
he  intends  to  do,  and  on  this  occasion  he  does  not  show  himself  lower  than  his 
reputation. " — A  tJiena'um. 

"  Boys  will  be  delighted  with  the  sketches  of  the  underground  world  of  the 
west  country ;  the  incidents  have  evidently  been  gathered  on  the  spot,  and 
the  descriptive  power  of  the  author  is  well  brought  out." — Record. 

"  Mr.  Ballantyne's  book  is  one  that  deserves  to  be  read  with  attention.  It 
will  not  fail  to  delight  boys,  for  it  is  full  of  deeds  of  daring  and  of  '  hairbreadth 
escapes.'  Its  brave  men  and  its  boys  are  good,  and  its  wicked  people  are 
decidedly  wicked.  Neutral  tints  are  not  in  favour  with  youth,  and  there  are 
none  of  them  in  this  book.    It  is  handsomely  illustrated." — Scotsman. 

"  This  is  just  the  subject  for  Mr.  Ballantyne,  whose  stories  in  connexion 
with  that  enterprise  and  adventure  which  have  made  England  great  are  among 
the  best  of  modem  days." — Daily  News. 

"By  reading  Mr.  Ballantyne's  admirable  story  a  very  large  amoimt  of 
knowledge  concerning  Cornish  mines  may  be  acquired  ;  whilst,  from  the  fact 
of  the  information  being  given  in  the  form  of  a  connected  narrative,  it  is  not 
likely  very  soon  to  be  forgotten.  ...  A  book  well  worthy  of  being  extensively 
read." — Mining  Journal. 


VII. 

Crovm  8t;o,  5s.,  Cloth. 

THE    FLOATING    LIGHT   OF  THE    GOODWIN 

SANDS. 

With  Illustrations. 

"As  a  narrative  of  deeply  interesting  scenes  and  incidents,  comparatively 
little  kno'ivn,  we  would  most  cordially  recommend  Mr.  BallantjTie's  book,"— 
Aberdeen  Journal. 


WOBKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


"  Abounds  with  thrilling  episodes,  and  is  written  in  as  instructive  a  spirit, 
and  with  such  a  i^ractical  tone  of  piety  withal,  as  to  make  it  truly  interesting 
also  to  those  of  mature  age. " — Shtpiorecked  Mariner. 

"  Few  could  read  this  work  without  having  their  hearts  warmed  and  their 
sympathies  awakened  by  this  narrative  of  the  simple  lives  and  gallant  deeds 
of  the  daring  tars  who  man  the  floating  lights  on  the  horror-haunted  Goodwin 
Sands.  ...  A  fine  vein  of  pure  morality  pervades  the  book  ;  and  tliis,  witli 
its  stiiTing  and  exciting  incidents,  should  make  it  a  peculiar  favourite  witli 
the  young,  while  it  cannot  fail  to  interest  all  who  seek  a  present  relaxation  in 
its  pages." — Dundee  Advertiser. 

"To  enable  him  to  write  thus  Mr.  Ballantyne  lived  some  time  on  board  one 
of  these  vessels  ;  and  though  we  cannot  profess  to  judge  from  the  same  stand- 
point, he  seems  to  have  caught  the  characters  admirably.  The  tale  will  be 
especially  interesting  to  adventure-loving  boys." — Record, 


vm. 
Crown  Svo,  53.,  Cloth. 

SHIFTING   WINDS: 
A  Tough.  Yam.    "With  Illustrations. 

"It  will  quite  answer  the  expectations  of  Mr.  Ballantyne'a  niimerous 
readers  ;  for  the  story  is  as  full  of  hairbreadth  escapes,  exciting  incidents,  and 
vivid  descriptions  of  sailor  life  as  any  boy  could  desire." — Horning  Post. 

"There  is  a  mistake  on  the  very  first  page  of  this  capital  book.  'Shifting 
Winds '  is  not  a  tough  yarn,  but  a  hearty,  vigorous,  bracing  story,  fresh  with 
the  pure  breezes,  and  sparkling  with  the  bright  waters  of  the  everlasting  seas." 
— Athenoeum 

"  Is  another  of  the  excellent  stories  which  Mr.  R.  M.  Ballantyne  has  con- 
tributed to  the  library  of  the  young.  He  has  great  powers  of  description,  and 
his  characters  stand  out  on  the  page  in  a  well-defined  individuality,  which  is 
essential  to  a  very  lively  interest  in  the  story."—  Record. 

"  '  Shifting  Winds '  is  a  tough  yam  only  in  the  sense  of  being  full  of  thrilling 
interest,  not  certainly  because  there  is  anything  about  it  to  suggest  doubt  of 
its  truthfulness.  It  is  a  most  fascinating  book  for  boys  and  young  men." — 
Daily  Remew. 

" '  Shifting  Winds '  is  described  by  its  author  as  '  a  tough  yam,'  but  the 
yarn  will  be  by  no  means  tough  to  readers  who  have  the  interests  and  welfare 
of  our  seamen  at  heart.  Written  in  a  clear  and  forcible  style,  healthy  in  tone, 
and  benevolent  in  purpose,  this  tale  serves  a  far  higher  end  than  that  of  simple 
amusement." —  Watchman. 


WOBKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


IX. 

Crown  8vo,  5s.,  Cloth. 

TH  E    LIGHTHOUSE: 
Being  the  Story  of  a  Great  Fight  bet^ween  Man  and 

the  Sea.    With  Illustrations. 

Extract  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  Northern  Lighthouses. 

".  .  .  .  They  (the  Commissioners  of  Northern  Lighthouses)  have  been  so 
much  ple<asod  with  the  way  in  which  yon  have  combined  the  fiction  of  a  tale 
with  the  popular  but  correct  account  of  the  building  of  the  Bell  Rook  Light- 
house, that  they  think  it  would  be  an  interesting  work  to  transmit  to  their 
Li?htkeepers,  and  I  have  therefore  to  request  that  you  will  direct  your  pub- 
lishers to  transmit  to  me  —  copies.         (Signed)     "  Alexr.  Cunningham." 

"Thoroughly  at  home  in  subjects  of  adventure,  the  author  has  made  tliifl, 
like  all  his  stories  for  boys,  smart  in  style,  thrilling  in  interest,  and  abounding 
in  incidents  of  every  kind." — Quiver. 

"A  union  of  fiction  and  useful  knowledge.  The  narrative  is  lively,  the 
characters  talk  easily  and  naturally,  and  the^icture  of  the  dangers  and 
difficulties  attending  the  erection  of  the  '  Pharos'  is  striking  and  vivid." — 
London  Review. 

"  A  book  in  which  the  author  displays  his  peculiar  faculty  of  instructing 
boys,  whilst  he  amuses  them,  so  that  they  are  not  aware  he  is  giving  them 
instruction." — Aihenanim. 


X. 

Crown  Svo,  5s.,  Cloth. 

THE    LIFEBOAT: 
A  Tale  of  our  Coast  Heroes.    With  Illustrations. 

Royal  National  Lifeboat  Institution. 
"Dear  Sir, — I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  to  request  your  acceptance 
of  the  accompanying  Photograph  of  a  Lifeboat  proceeding  off  to  a  wreck,  as  a 
small  peraianent  acknowledgment  of  the  important  service  you  have  rendered 
to  the  Lifeboat  cause  by  your  very  interesting  work  entitled,  "The  Lifeboat : 
a  Tale  of  our  Coast  Heroes." — I  remain,  yours  faitkfuUy, 

(Signed)  "  Richard  Lewis,  Secretary." 

"Apart  from  its  merit  as  a  tale,  which  is  considerable,  the  work  has  a 
mission  which  would  of  itself  be  suflTicient  to  commend  it  to  general  notice. 
It  is  meant  to  bring  more  prominently  before  the  public  the  claims  of  the 
National  Lifeboat  Institution." — Morning  Fost. 

"  For  those  who  love  tales  of  peril  on  the  sea  Mr.  BaJIantyne's  tale,  '  The 
Lifeboat,'  will  have  intense  interest.  Mr.  Ballantyne  has  gone  to  some  trouble 
to  collect  information  as  to  the  services  rendered  by  the  life-boatmen  under 
the  direction  of  the  National  Lifeboat  Institution,  and  he  has  woven  the  whole 
into  a  thrilling  tale.  .  .  .  Those  who  buy  the  book  will  not  fail  to  have  more 

than  their  mommy's  worth  in  the  interest  which  its  perusal  will  create," 

Evening  Star. 


WORKS  BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR. 


XI. 

Crown  8vo,  5s.  Cloth. 

THE    GOLDEN    DREAM; 
A  Tale  of  the  Dig-gings.    "With  Illustrations. 


XII. 

Crown  8vo,  5s.,  Cloth. 

GASCOYNE,   THE   SANDALWOOD  TRADER: 
A  Tale  of  the  Pacific.    "With  Illustrations. 

"  It  is  full  of  cleverly  and  impressively  drawn  pictnres  of  life  and  character 
in  the  Pacific,  and  has  as  much  of  the  sensational,  though  by  no  means  un- 
natural, element  mi.xed  and  mingled  with  it  as  to  excite  the  earnest  interest 
and  absorb  the  closest  attention  of  the  young  people  for  whom  it  is  chiefly 
designed. " — Caledonian  Mercury. 


XIII. 
Cfovm  8vo,  2s.  6d.  Cloth. 


THE    PIONEERS: 

A  Tale  of  the  Western  Wilderness,  illustrative  of  the  Adventures 
and  Discoveries  of  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie. 

"  Mr.  Ballantyne  has  taken  the  original  journal  of  Mackenzie.  Sir 
Alexander's  daughter  and  his  two  sons  have  placed  at  his  disposal  all  th« 
information  in  their  possession,  and  the  result  is  an  account  of  manly  deeds 
by  flood  and  fell,  which  may  be  backed  against  all  competitors  for  its  racy 
style  and  absorbing  interest."— Edi7iburgh  C'ourant. 

"  Mr.  Ballantyne  is  the  most  successful  of  story-tellers  for  boys.  He  is 
always  so  happy  in  the  choice  of  a  subject,  so  much  in  earnest  in  working  it 
out,  and  contrives  to  bury  the  mere  outlines  of  his  narrative  amid  so  many 
lively  and  instructive  pictures  of  the  adventurous  side  of  real  life,  that  the 
boyish  intellect  is  dull  indeed  that  is  not  quickened  to  nobler  impulses  by  a 
reading  of  such  stories  as  'The  Iron  Horse,'  '  The  Lifeboat,'  or  '  The  Pioneers. ' " 
— North  British  Daily  Mail. 


With  Illuttrations.     16mQ,  each  Is.,  Cloth;  or,  the  Set  of  13  Books 
in  a  Handsome  Box,  15s. 

BALLANTYNE'S  MISCELLANY. 


1.  Fighting  the  Whales. 

2.  Away  in  the  Wildernesa. 

3.  Fast  in  the  Ice. 

4.  Chasing  the  Sun. 

5.  Sunk  at  Sea. 

6.  Lost  in  the  Forest. 

7.  Over  the  Rocky  Mountains, 


8.  Saved  by  the  Lifehoal 

9.  The  Cannibal  Islands. 

10.  Hunting  the  Lions. 

11.  Digging  for  Gold. 

12.  Up  in  the  Clouds. 

13.  The  Battle  and  the  Breeze. 


t. 


r  ' 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
Los  Angeles 


^r^^  inQ^iook  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


I'b 


ftB 


51982 


inn  L9-2.-,»-9,M7(A5618)444